Sins of the Twins
by uniquename200's NEW ACCOUNT
Summary: The Birthday twins are outcasts in their hometown of Portsmouth, England. Things change when they move to the Wammy House and meet the famed L. At 17 years old, the two leave to go to college in L.A. Little do they know that the peace of their lives will be shattered by one case. Soon, Bullet is caught in a deadly web of lies that will threaten her heart and her life. LxOC BBxNaomi
1. Chapter 1

Hi! Two stories in one day :) I am on a roll!

Here's a new story for you. It's a Death Note story. The pairings are LxOC and Beyond BirthdayxNaomi Misora. Hope you like it!

Summary: The Birthday twins were outcasts in their hometown of Portsmouth, England. Things change when they come to the Wammy House and meet the L. At 17 years old, the two run away to go to college in L.A. Little do they know that the peace of their lives will be shattered by one case. Soon, Bullet is caught in a deadly web of lies that threaten her heart and her life.

Rating: T (with some moderate cursing in later chapters)

Everything except this fanfic belongs to Tsugumi Ohba.

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Did you know that Beyond Birthday had a twin sister?

Her name was Bullet Birthday.

The two were fraternal twins, born and raised in Portsmouth, England. They shared the same black hair and brooding red eyes. He had short, spiky black hair while his sister had long black hair. Since Beyond had the shinigami eyes, you'd think that his sister was the normal one.

Wrong!

In fact, she turned out to be just as strange as him. The eyes weren't the whole package. There was more to it.

A shinigami had fallen in love with their mother. His name was Noir. She had gotten into a train crash about two days before she was supposed to give birth. Noir loved her but couldn't do anything to save her. Her death was inevitable. Instead, he saved her children and sacrificed his life for Bullet and Beyond to live. His power, however, had to be divided between the two kids. Bullet had shinigami eyes and so did Beyond.

But that wasn't all of it. Noir had the power to control shadows. He passed this to one of them before he perished into dust. Beyond couldn't handle the power so it was given to his sister. (_A/N: Beyond Birthday is the older one_)

When they were born, their father knew that they were a little bit more than ordinary. If the light hit their eyes just right, their eyes seemed to turn a shade of iridescent red. They differed only slightly in personality as well. Beyond was a total introvert. Bullet was friendly enough but the other kids were scared of her. She could be cold and calculating when she wanted to be, manipulating people when required.

The Birthday household was a strange and somewhat wacky place. Their father was a hitman and he had guns and weapons stored in the oddest places. He taught them self defense and shooting at the tender age of four. By the time they were seven, both children knew over 120 ways to kill somebody.

Nobody wanted to play with them because they were the token outcasts of Portsmouth. Mothers wouldn't let their children even go near them, believing that the twins were cursed. Strange things would always happen, especially when Bullet was around. Children who teased the Birthday twins would come home crying and blathering on and on about shadows and such. Their parents dismissed it as childlike nonsense, but kept their suspicions about Beyond and Bullet.

With no other friends, the two twins soon turned to each other and became best friends. Bullet followed her older brother around in their daily misadventures. They grew closer after their father was killed on September 20, 1989. Bullet and Beyond watched as a rival hitman brutally murdered their father. After his death, the two were bounced around from orphanage to orphanage for months. The others would whisper about how odd they were. It was if their eyes held demons inside. Ten months after their father's death, the twins were sent to the Wammy House in Winchester.

The Birthday twins were intelligent and excelled at most things. Beyond was better, however. He had perseverance and a brilliant mind that few could match. He was also very passionate (if not, too passionate) about things. In education, Bullet simply lacked motivation. She didn't see the point of doing something if it didn't benefit her. Her real talents lay in music (and assassination, but that's another story). What seemed like a pipe dream to others was what she truly wanted to do. Nobody else knew about this except for Beyond, who fully supported her. A completely different side of her showed when sang and he knew that she had what it took to make it in the music world. Things were relatively normal until Watari told Beyond that he was chosen as successor to the famous L.

L was crown jewel of the Wammy House. He had unbelievable deductive skills and had solved cases since he was six. Everyone wanted to be better than him, but he was just that goal you couldn't reach. The more you got closer to the prize of besting him, the farther away he would drift. Bullet realized that she would never be meant to succeed L and was wasting her time there.

She decided that it was time to hatch an escape plan on her seventeenth birthday. The Birthday twins would disappear.

**_(FLASHBACK)_**

_July 20, 1997-9 AM_

_Bullet padded down the stairs. It was a balmy summer morning and not many people were up and about yet. The cook, Ingrid, saw her come into the kitchen and said a quiet "hello". The girl left as quick as she had come, disappointed by the fact that she hadn't received a birthday greeting._

_It really shouldn't have been that much of a surprise to her. Everyone was still in mourning over the supposed "death" of A. He had jumped of the clock tower and died about two weeks ago. Many people were devastated over his death. Except Bullet and Beyond, of course._

_They knew his death was faked._

_How? It was the shinigami eyes just doing their job. Bullet knew A's lifespan. She and Beyond both knew that he wasn't supposed to die on July 6, 1997. He would live way past that. They didn't say anything, for fear of being ridiculed. Besides, they knew that it wasn't their place to nose around anyway._

_She had talked her brother into disappearing with her. Apparently, he was sick of all the pressure being put on him to succeed L. They both wanted to start fresh and live their own lives. Bullet wanted to go into music and Beyond wanted to work as a doctor. The anatomy and processes of the human body simply fascinated him. Personally, she found it a tad bit disgusting. Whatever floats his boat, she had thought. The plan was foolproof with her shinigami powers._

_Bullet walked up the stairs, passing her brother on the way up. They caught each other's glances and nodded. Bullet went up to her bedroom and grabbed her bag. Inside, it held a fake ID, driver's license, and things like that. Everything you needed to basically survive and to keep up appearances. She had it made with a program she had stolen from Watari's computer._

_They met downstairs. Ingrid looked up at both of them._

_"Oh? Going somewhere?" She said._

_"We're going out to visit our mother's grave." Bullet said. Ingrid just shrugged and continued dusting._

_"That's not surprising." Ingrid muttered._

_Nobody else took notice of their departure and they walked to the end of the street, out of view from everyone else._

_"Are you ready, Bullet?" Beyond said._

_"Yeah. My shadows will bring us to wherever we want to go, making us disappear without a trace." She replied._

_"Alright. It doesn't look like anyone will miss us." He said._

_"That's true. But I guess that only adds to the reason why we're leaving."_

_"Touché. Shall we go, my dear Bullet?"_

_"Absolutely." She said as she set a bullet on the ground in front of them. The shadows around her enveloped them in darkness and they vanished, leaving only a single silver bullet to remember them by._

_**(FLASHBACK END)**_

Life for the Birthday twins finally seemed to be on the right path. They left England and went to the States. Bullet went to college to get a degree in music and Beyond tried to get into med school. They were both accepted into UCLA and Bullet finished in four years with a Bachelor's Degree in Musical Performance. Beyond had finished his undergraduate classes but in 2002, they finally figured out that his papers were forged and he got kicked out.

Beyond was pretty mad at being expelled so he would wander around L.A. every day to plot his revenge. Bullet was scrambling to find work but she found that a degree in music wasn't very useful in finding a job. Bullet wanted to go on as a singer or a pianist but nothing ever happened. They would always turn her down or it wouldn't work out. It was something she never understood, even to this day.

She had to pay the bills somehow so she decided to follow in her father's foot steps. Bullet lived up to her namesake and became a hitman. She did all sorts of assassinations because that's how she was trained as a child. Being a hitman also gave her a steady income and worked with different people like the Mafia, the Yakuza, the Triads, and even the government.

A little while later, Beyond started the L.A.B.B. Murders. The murders actually served with a double purpose. For one, he wanted to test L with those unusual murders. There was another reason why he did it. The other victims were actually decoys. The one Beyond was really after was Quarter Queen. Or rather, Quarter Queen's mother.

She worked as the main secretary for the UCLA School of Medicine. That woman was the one who came across Beyond's file and found out it was fake. She presented it to the university's dean and they expelled him. After killing his victims, he could not face his sister and hid out in an abandoned warehouse on the Santa Monica pier. Anyway, Naomi Misora was the one who caught him and had him arrested. Beyond had found Naomi as a calm and hardworking person. He enjoyed watching her figure out his crime and at the same time found her quite attractive. Bullet was able to bribe the sheriff to let him out. The moment he was out, Beyond disappeared. The two would lead very separated lives with a few phone calls to each other every year. Little did they know that the peace of their relatively normal lives would be shattered by the one case...

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Well? How was it? Was it horrible or was it at least decent?

If you like this story and favorite it, please don't forget to drop a review! I won't update until I get at least a few reviews.

(V) (;,,;) (V)


	2. Chapter 2: A Strange Twist of Fate

Hey! Here's a new chapter for you guys. Special thanks to hikari-hime 01 for giving me my first review! If you like this story, please drop me a review. I don't think it takes that long, honestly.

Enjoy!

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_(2 years later...February 14th, 2004)_

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Bullet walked down the bustling streets of Tokyo. Her sneakers shuffled along on the sidewalk. It was people overload and the streets were abuzz with activity. Couples strolled by, arm in arm, off to go on dates. It was Valentine's Day, after all. Personally, she hated being out in the streets because of her curse. Bullet could see everyone's name and death date. It was a little overwhelming and it made her want to go home.

Damned shinigami eyes.

Sometimes she really hated her eyes. It constantly reminded her that life was like a giant hourglass. People were constantly running out of time. For every person she met, their days were numbered from the start. She would watch, powerless, as the numbers that floated above their head would slowly wind down to zero. Bullet refrained from getting too close to people for this very reason. She didn't want to get hurt. But such is life...

Bullet was currently in the process of making another kill and was following the target down 10th Avenue. The man stopped at a crosswalk and looked around nervously. She grinned in delight. This was her chance. Bullet took a little patch from her pocket, which held a large amount of C4. If she pulled the string on the side of the packet and stuck it somewhere, the place where she put it would explode in two minutes.

Why did she want to kill him? Well, for starters it was her job. It was nothing personal. Other than that, this man was a very, very bad man. He dabbled in illegal weapons dealings, ran a prostitution ring, and was a big influence in the crime organizations. She walked next to him and held the detonation device in her hand. Bullet bumped into him "accidentally", causing him to fall and drop everything. His papers and letters fell to the ground. Seeing the opportunity, she pulled the string with her thumb and knelt down on the ground.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, sir! I'll help you!" Bullet exclaimed. She picked up his things and swiftly attached the little patch to an important looking letter. The man hadn't seen her do it, for he was too busy trying to pick up everything. He snatched it from her hands and shoved it in his breast pocket.

"Don't touch it! Just leave me alone!" He snapped.

"Are you sure?" She said, feigning uncertainty. The man glared at her and went on his merry way. Bullet walked away in the other direction and went a fair distance away from the crime scene. She glanced at her watch. Yep, he had another minute to live.

So long, sir.

Bullet strode briskly to the corner of 12th street and went to the sidewalk. The device would probably make one hell of an explosion but wouldn't kill any people passing by. Bullet walked swiftly onto the crosswalk, completely forgetting to look before she walked. Just as she walked into the street, she saw it.

It got her before she could even see the whole thing. A sleek black Rolls Royce hit her in the side and Bullet let out a scream. She lay on the ground and hissed in pain. It was a good thing they weren't going fast, or else she probably would've been dead! The driver came out to inspect the damage.

"Miss! Are you alright? You came out of nowhere and I couldn't stop!" He said. He had a kind looking face and that sort of grandfather-like air about him. Bullet blinked and noticed the words floating above his head.

"Quillsh Wammy..." She mumbled. The older man's head snapped up.

"Did you say something?" He said, looking pale. Why on earth did that name sound so sickeningly familiar? Another man came out of the car and Bullet tried to stand up. She heard an explosion and screams in the distance behind her. The plan worked to perfection, as always.

"I'll be ok. Thank you for the concern." Bullet said with a polite smile. She picked herself up off the ground and dusted off her jeans. It wasn't that bad of an injury. Bullet could still run, but it really hurt. She tried to walk away but suddenly lost her balance. Someone caught her and Bullet found herself staring into two black orbs. The man looked at her with mild curiosity.

"Come. We'll take you to the hospital." He said firmly. She glanced up at the words floating above his head.

"L...Lawliet...?" Bullet murmured. He stiffened and the older man looked at them. Her eyes widened because she finally realized who these two men were.

They were L and Watari, the two men she had been evading all her life.

"What did you say?" He finally said with a look of utter disbelief on his face.

"I-I...I have to go!" She blurted out. Bullet pushed herself up off the ground with her foot and started to run. Or rather, she attempted to run.

"Wait! Stop!" Watari yelled. Bullet heard footsteps behind her and ran as fast as her legs could take her in her current state. But it wasn't fast enough. She let out a shriek as she was tackled to the ground. It was L who did it. He dragged her away and put her into the backseat of the car. Watari got in and the three sped off. L stared at her again and said three words.

"Say it again."

"Say what?" She said.

"That name...only four people in the world know who that name belongs to." He said.

"I didn't say a name! I said...um, lawless!" Bullet said, lying pathetically. She couldn't help but make a bad lie. How could she lie to him? He was staring at her with those eyes! It was his interrogation face, for sure. Bullet looked around for any possible means of escape. The doors were locked and it would be completely stupid of her to bust the windows and jump out. Bullet would walk away with more injuries than she needed for one day. It was better to wait and see what she could do later.

L shook his head. "You are a horrible liar." He said. The car pulled up in front of a fancy hotel. L opened the door and beckoned for her to follow him. Watari led the two to the top floor and they went into a room. There was nobody there except for the three of them and Bullet was put in a chair. L sat across from her and they locked eyes for a while, like they were testing each other's wit.

"What is my name?" He finally said.

"I don't know! Why would I know?" Bullet exclaimed.

"I heard you say it. How do you know it?" He said sharply.

"I don't know! Leave me alone!"

He looked her straight in the eyes. "I know you know it. Now quit lying and tell me the truth."

Bullet said nothing and glared at him in silence. It was time to give him the silent treatment. It went on like that for a whole hour with him asking her questions. She failed to say anything. No words came out of her mouth. L eventually got fed up with it and stuck her in one of the suite's bedrooms. Bullet heard the door shut and the latch click. She was all alone now.

But he probably had cameras in this room to watch her for "surveillance" purposes. She could see one in the corner of the room right now. Bullet made a face of disgust. That was a bit voyeuristic of him, she had to admit. It was kind of creepy. She pushed aside the curtains and looked down. It was a long way down. There was a park with a huge lake down below. If she jumped, there was a 65% chance that she could land in the middle of the lake. Oh, well. Sixty-five percent was better than nothing. Bullet would have to get a running start and use the windowsill as her take-off point but it seemed plausible enough. Her leg didn't feel too bad now and she decided that this was her only choice.

The raven haired woman glanced around the room. It was empty except for a dresser, a nightstand, a chair, a lamp, and a bed. She pushed the chair against the door, blocking it. The blockade wouldn't last very long, but it would give her enough time to get away. Bullet threw the window open and stood at the end of the room. She heard an urgent pound from the door from behind her and a smirk found its way to her lips. Bullet wouldn't let L catch her. No way in hell.

She sprinted across the room and vaulted off of the windowsill. As she jumped, she heard the sound of the chair crashing down to the ground and the door opening. Bullet did two front flips and then braced herself for impact, not knowing how deep the water was. Her biggest concern was the possibility of the lake being shallow. The clear water whooshed past her head and for a moment, everything was dark. Turns out, it was pretty deep. When she dropped in, her feet didn't even touch the bottom. People were staring as Bullet climbed out of the lake covered in water. Pond algae clung to her sleeve and she quickly shook it off in disgust. She glanced up and saw L and Watari bent over the windowsill, staring at her like she was completely mental. Bullet waved at them cheekily and went off towards the metro. She took out her wallet, scanned her pass, and found a seat on the train. Apparently, no one wanted to sit by Bullet because she was über wet. Oh, well. Their loss. She put her hands behind her head and let out a sigh of relief.

Another day, another glorious escape!

Bullet got off the subway at Toyosu Station. Her apartment was near the central part of Tokyo. It wasn't that far of a walk from the metro station which was pretty damn convenient (about five minutes, actually). She walked down the busy street and stopped in front of a large condominium complex called the Royal Parks Toyosu. Bullet walked into the air conditioned building and immediately felt the chill on her skin. She was kind of dry by now but was still pretty damp.

"Good afternoon, miss. I trust you've had a pleasant day?" The bellhop, Takeshi, said.

"Hello, Takeshi. My day was very...interesting, that's for sure. But it was lovely, thank you." She replied.

"Excellent. Please call me if you need anything, miss." He said. Bullet nodded and headed over to the elevators. She pressed the number fourteen and went on her way. The elevator let out a "ding!" and stopped at the top floor. Bullet got out and fumbled with the key ring on her wallet. After getting the right key, she finally opened the door to room number 1007.

She walked into her apartment. It might have been too small for other people but it was perfect for her. It had one bedroom but a big living/dining area. The kitchen was pretty small but she didn't really cook that much anyway. It wasn't much of an issue. Bullet paid about ¥211,000 every month but that was ok because she earned quite a bit of money in her line of work.

Bullet tossed her wallet onto the counter and stared out the window. There was a huge balcony outside and it let in a lot of light. The sun was setting and it reflected on her baby grand piano. Bullet loved the piano like it was her own child. It was the biggest splurge she'd ever allowed herself to buy. In the low light, the light bounced off the cover, giving its ebony case a beautiful sheen.

She crossed the living room and went into the bedroom. The first thing Bullet did was toss her shoes somewhere and crash on the bed. She just laid there in silence for a really long time. It was a hell of a day today. First the kill, then meeting L, and finally escaping from the hotel room. What a day. And on top of all of that, she was totally wet and smelled like lake water. Gross!

After taking a shower, Bullet climbed into bed. She stared at the starlit sky outside and wondered what kind of day she would have tomorrow. Hectic? Confusing? Hellish, maybe?

She would just have to see.

As Bullet drifted off to sleep, she found herself thinking about how strange life could be sometimes. She didn't want anything to do with the Wammy House but yet here she was. Watari and L had somehow wormed their way back into her life. There was no doubt they'd be trying to find her. The one thing she ran away from, only to literally run back into it...

Fate is just cruel that way.

.=.

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_(Meanwhile, with L...)_

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L sat at his computer, drumming his fingers on the keyboard absentmindedly. He finally decided that he couldn't think properly at the moment and shut his laptop. The black haired man leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. He couldn't stop thinking about that woman. Who was she?

And why did she know his real name?

Nobody knew him as L Lawliet. He had done everything he could to subdue that name forever. All he went by was L, simple as that. Nobody knew about his full name except for his parents, Watari, and himself. The fact that she knew both his and Watari's was simply disturbing. L shut his eyes in a futile attempt to distract himself but all he could see was the lingering memory of her blood red eyes.

He opened his eyes again and shook his head. The woman had seemed so familiar...but at the same time, she was a total stranger. Beyond Birthday had eyes just like hers. He briefly wondered if they were related but quickly disregarded that thought. If that was Beyond's sister, then that would mean that they both disappeared that day. However, L found that highly improbable. Beyond's disappearance was odd and complicated enough but if you threw a second person into that equation, it would make it even more complex. There was no way both of them could've disappeared without a trace. But still, it got him thinking.

Who was this mysterious woman?

Well, L would get her identity.

Eventually.

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Kyahahaha! They finally meet! How will this play out?

Anyway, if you liked this chapter (or if you didn't) don't forget to drop a review!

peace :)

(V) ;,,,; (V)


	3. Chapter 3: The Proposal

Hey guys! Here's the new chapter! I got it done earlier than usual which is a plus for you guys. I would like to thank the reviewers!

**_XxPunkXPyromaniacxX: Thanks for the review! I am glad you like my story :)_**

**_Yanderoid: I would like to give a special thanks to you! You helped me out greatly and I thank you for that. You are amazing. Again, THANKS A BUNCH!_**

**_hikari-hime 01: Thanks for the review! I hope you continue to follow this story!_**

Oh, and by the way...HAPPY ROYAI DAY! This is my present to all of you :D Anyway, I think you'll enjoy this one ~hehehehehe~

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Bullet woke up the next morning to a beautiful and clear day. It was bright and sunny outside, making it the perfect day to do anything she pleased!

She hummed happily as she made herself a cup of nummy espresso. Bullet grabbed the remote and sat down on the couch to watch some T.V. Some of the headlines were about politics, which didn't interest her in the least. She sipped daintily at her coffee and munched on some toast, not wholly concerned about world affairs. Her head snapped up when she finally heard the news story she was looking for.

"_Masato Daiichi, a 42 year old businessman, was killed yesterday. Eyewitnesses on several accounts claim that he was blown up in an explosion. However, no bystanders were injured. Police are investigating his mysterious death. Here is a representative, speaking in behalf of Tokyo's police force."_

The screen flickered and unexpectedly switched to a white screen with a calligraphic L floating in the center. All the air whooshed out of her lungs. What did L have anything to do with this? She had seen this message a few times, but Bullet couldn't understand why he had anything to do with this case. It didn't have a million dollars at stake or anything! Maybe it was because of the fact that she was able to make a clean kill by blowing someone up.

"_Mr. Daiichi's death is no accident. We have looked into all of the plausible angles, but it's very clear that his death was deliberate. We can confirm that he was blown up but we're not dealing with an ordinary criminal here. We're dealing with a skilled killer who has very unusual methods. This death was not caused by Kira, so there is no need to panic_." He said. The letter soon disappeared a few seconds after that and the camera switched back to the anchorwoman.

"_Please call this number for any anonymous to submit any tips in order to prevent the killer from striking again. I'm Veronica Corningstone, and this is Tokyo's Primetime News at 11._" She said. A number appeared on the screen and they switched to another news story.

"What on earth was that all about?" She exclaimed, laughing to herself. It seemed like L was forced to tell the public that it wasn't Kira. Some idiot would probably jump to conclusions and do something stupid. Oh, well. That was inevitable, in times like these. Bullet was, however, semi-flattered by the fact that L called her a skilled killer. She washed the dishes and got ready to go out. Bullet planned on just running errands today and enjoying the weather. It sounded like a good plan to her. She put on a lacy white sundress, a pair of sandals, and a cute necklace. Her leg was still a little sore and she had a yellowing bruise on her thigh. Bullet grabbed her purse and headed out.

As she was shopping in the supermarket for some vegetables, her cell went off rather unexpectedly. Bullet unlocked her phone to answer it. The caller ID said that it was from a restricted number. How odd.

"Hello?" She said.

No answer.

"Hello? Who is this?" Bullet repeated.

"Am I speaking to Bullet Birthday?" The voice said. It was strange. The person on the other line had a distorted voice. It sounded like how L spoke in news broadcasts.

"Who is this?" She replied. Bullet fidgeted with the edge of her skirt. She was getting nervous now. Who was this creep and why did they know her number?

"You can call me A. I'm sure you're familiar with me, of course." He said.

"Excuse me? Did you say A?" She said in utter disbelief. Her hands were shaking slightly in fear. What did he want with her?

"Yes, I did. My name is A. I am calling you to inquire about your services." He said.

"Ah...um, sure! What do you need?" Bullet said, trying to hide her fears with a chipper tone. She only ended up sounding more nervous, with her voice rising in pitch.

"It's a rather important hit. I'd like to talk about it with you personally." He said.

"Where will we meet?" Bullet asked.

"I would like to formally meet you for dinner tonight at seven at the Oak Door Restaurant in the Grand Hyatt Tokyo Hotel. We can talk it over there."

"Alrighty. I'll see you there." She said. Bullet hung up and fought back the urge to collapse. She thought he had disappeared forever after his supposed death. Bullet never really talked to A, but she knew her brother had been good friends with him. He was a quiet figure in the Wammy House, hardly speaking but was intelligent nevertheless. She walked out of the supermarket at about four with her bags in her arms. Bullet was lost in thought and she nearly tripped twice.

When she got home, she sat there for a while. Bullet didn't know what A wanted. Who was she supposed to kill and why was this target so important that she had to personally meet her client? Usually, her clients never met her. They would call her on a number that she had personally made sure was untraceable. Bullet was a careful woman (if not, too careful). The woman believed that the greatest killers were the ones who were heard of but never seen. She was well known in the underground world of crime but nobody really had a face to pin to her identity. Bullet made sure never to leave traces of her existence behind at any of her missions. As for the money she earned, it went to a bank account in Switzerland and was transferred to a secure warehouse deep in the Alps. Bullet had passports and legal papers for five different identities. Yes indeed, she was very careful.

The raven haired woman's head snapped up when she heard the sound of the clock chiming. It was about five o'clock. She went to the bedroom and prepared for her dinner. After doing her hair, Bullet chose to wear a beige dress that was elegantly draped in the front. It was racerback style and the straps were made of fine cutout lace. She put on a pair of light brown Christian Louboutin pumps and pinned her curled hair to the side with a silver pin. Bullet grabbed a small clutch bag and headed out the door. She decidedly ignored the catcalls from numerous men as she walked past Tokyo's red light district. Eventually, she came to the Grand Hyatt Tokyo Hotel. Bullet went inside and came to the Oak Door Restaurant. She went up to the counter.

"Name, please?" The maître'd asked.

"I'm looking for A." She said. The man took a peek at his list.

"Ah, yes. Come with me, please." He said. Bullet followed him to a room in the back of the restaurant. He opened the door and she stepped inside the plush room. At the table sat the man named A. She could recognize him by his pale blonde hair. He smiled politely at her and motioned for her to take a seat. She sat in the chair across from him. The waiter handed them two menus and ordered dinner. The man quickly left the room after that. A looked at her and nodded.

"Hello, Miss Birthday. We meet again." He said.

"Nice to see you again as well. How have you been doing?" Bullet said as she shook his hand politely.

"Quite fine, actually. And you?" He asked as his storm grey eyes bored into hers.

"I've been doing well. Now that we're through with the formalities, I understand that you needed me for a hit?" Bullet said.

"Ah, this is a rather complicated job. I would like you to kill this man." He said, passing her a folder. Bullet opened it and was surprised to see a familiar face staring at her.

It was a picture of L.

"So, lemme get this straight. You want me to kill L?" Bullet said.

"Yes. Now, I want you to get close to him and kill him when he least expects it. I want you to make him suffer." A said in a hateful tone.

"Ok...does that mean that I have to be on the Kira task force team?" Bullet asked.

"It doesn't but I'm sure that would help in getting close to him." He replied.

"I see...are there any other conditions I should know about?" She said.

"I would like to charge you after you've made sure the job is done. It's nothing personal, really. I just need to make sure everything goes according to plan. Precautionary measures and all that." A explained.

"Well, what happens if I refuse?" Bullet shot back. In all honesty, she wasn't sure about this one. She had the nagging feeling that this job wouldn't end well. This was personal because she actually knew her target. To add to that, Bullet didn't feel much hatred or animosity towards L. Even though he arrested her brother, she didn't feel that his actions really concerned her. In short, Bullet just didn't care much at all. A gave her a chilling smile.

"I'm sure you wouldn't. If you did, my men will personally be after you to kill you."

"Try me." Bullet said as she sipped at her drink.

"Why do you act confident? My people are highly trained and dangerous men." A said curiously.

"I've fought many men, A. I don't go down easily. How do you think I've managed to stay alive for twenty three years?" She said.

"Hmm. Do I take that as a no?" A asked.

"I never said no, I was merely speculating. Name your base price for the kill." Bullet replied.

"25,000 euros." He said. She rolled her eyes.

"If I'm gonna kill the world's greatest detective then you'll have to do a lot better than that." Bullet said.

"100,000 euros." He replied. The woman motioned for him to keep going.

"200,000 euros. That is my final offer." A replied. She twirled a spoon around her fingertips. Bullet contemplated on his offer through the rest of their dinner. Near the end, she had made up her mind.

"Hmm, that seems reasonable I guess. I'll take the job." She said. A wide Cheshire cat grin appeared on A's face.

"Excellent." He said. She gave him a smile. The waiter appeared with the bill and the two left the restaurant. They stood at the hotel's lobby and Bullet was ready to part ways with him.

"Well, thank you for having me this evening. I enjoyed dinner." Bullet said politely.

"No problem, Miss Birthday. I expect to hear the best from you!" A said.

"You won't have a problem with that. I'll do my best." Bullet replied. She turned to walk away but he put a hand on her shoulder.

"I have one last thing to tell you." He said. She turned around and waited for him to speak.

"How can I say this delicately...ah, yes. Please refrain from developing feelings from your target. Being a woman, you must make sure to keep your emotions in check because that would complicate things." He said. Bullet fought the urge to slap him. Did he think that since she was a woman, she couldn't control her emotions as well as men could? How incredibly sexist.

Bullet gave him a cold smile and said her goodbyes. As she walked down the streets of Tokyo, she contemplated on her decision. Could she really kill L? Bullet had an odd feeling settling in her stomach. Maybe her instinct was right. This might be a bad idea. Was it wrong to kill a fellow Wammy kid? Bullet arrived at her home and turned the key in the lock. She got ready for bed and lay there, staring out her window. She decided that tomorrow she would go to the police station and apply to be on the Kira Task Force Team. Bullet was no longer worried about the morality of her decision. Maybe she might kill L. Or maybe she would back out of the job at the last second. Bullet didn't care, really. She was curious to see how this job would play out.

In fact, this could turn out to be interesting.

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Kesesese :) Another complication! I might've gotten a teensy bit lax on the last part. Cut me some slack! I've been working on this for one whole week.

Anyway, don't forget to drop a review! I'll probably update every Saturday or maybe earlier. (If I can)

peace :)

(V) ;,,,; (V)


	4. Chapter 4: Getting In

Heyo! Here's the next installment of the Sins of the Twins, as promised! I hope you liked the last chapter and I very much hope you'll like this one just as much!

SHOUT OUTS!

_**kuro13neko:** Hey, thanks for dropping a review! I appreciate it! I hope you continue to give me reviews :)_

_**Asp. Anime:**_ _Hello, new reviewer! I'm glad you like the whole criminal twin angle and their names! I actually had a hard time coming up with Bullet's name. It went from Raven and somehow switched to Blair but I was watching Scarface and the name somehow presented itself :) Thanks for your support!_

Anyway,** READ THIS**! I apologize in advance if Bullet comes off as a little bit Mary Sue-ish in this chapter. That is not my intention at all but she's describing her skills in this one. But don't worry, she won't be a black belt in every form of martial arts, be a long lost princess or a supermodel, and **GOD FORBID** she will not speak 64 different languages! That's just crazy and I would never subject my readers to that. I'll say sorry in advance, just in case I piss anyone off.

Alrighty, enough of my ranting. LET'S DO THIS SHIT.

_*record scratch*_

Oh wait, I forgot all about this in the earlier chapters! The freaking disclaimer!

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN DEATH NOTE, OK? This fanfic is written just for fun and not for profit. All I own is this fanfic and Bullet Birthday. Other than that, I've got nothing. If I violate anything, you could totally take me down in court. No doubt about it.**

Now you can enjoy reading :)

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Bullet waltzed into the police station at ten o'clock exactly. She looked around, wondering what to do next. Bullet spotted a secretary at a desk and she went over to her. The woman was typing away at a keyboard, her painted fingernails clacking loudly against the keys. Her name tag gleamed brightly in the light, bearing the name "Kyoko". She looked up as Bullet approached and beamed at her.

"Good morning!" The woman chirped.

"Hi, is Chief Yagami in yet?" Bullet asked.

"Oh, yes he is! I just saw him about an hour ago. He should be in his office. Did you need something from him?" The woman said brightly.

"I did, actually. I need to tell him something." Bullet said, keeping her reasons vague.

"Let me call him first, to check if he isn't busy." The secretary said as she grabbed her phone. Bullet waited patiently as Kyoko chatted politely with Chief Yagami. She hung up shortly and Bullet came back to the desk.

"He's not busy at the moment, so you're free to see him! His office is the last door at the end of the hall on the fifth floor." The woman said. She stuck a visitor's sticker onto Bullet's coat and sent her off. When she arrived at the specified location, the raven haired woman entered his office cautiously. She had always been a little been uncomfortable around policemen. It was ingrained in her system. She was a killer, after all.

Bullet walked into the plush office. He saw a man with black hair sitting at a desk, doing some paperwork. His plaque said, "Chief Soichiro Yagami". The man looked up as she entered.

"Oh, good morning. Please, take a seat." He said. Bullet sat in the chair in front of him.

"Good morning, Chief Yagami. I had something to tell you. It's about the Kira Case." Bullet said. He stiffened immediately, as if the name itself brought bad luck.

"What did you need to say?" He said.

"I would like to work with you on the case as well. I think that I would be beneficial to your investigation." Bullet said. For once, Soichiro looked completely surprised.

"You actually want to work on this case? How do I know you're not Kira just trying to set us up?" He said, looking wary.

"I'm not Kira! If I was, then I wouldn't be here. I would stay as far away from the police as possible!" Bullet exclaimed.

"I still can't be sure that you're not Kira." Soichiro said. After arguing with him for a whole hour, he ended up forcing her to take a polygraph test which took another thirty minutes. Bullet answered all of the questions honestly and she passed the test. It was nice that she passed because the man who asked her the questions was really scary. He practically scared her into submission through the whole test. After that, Soichiro inspected her legal papers and found everything legitimate. He led her back to his office and they sat down once more.

"Are you really sure that you want to work on this case? If you're not, then I suggest you quit now. Once you get involved, there is no turning back. You are stuck with the task force team until this mess is over." Soichiro said, looking quite seriously at her.

"Yes, I'm sure about this. Is there something wrong with that?" She asked.

"No, no! Not at all. I'm actually pleased that someone wants to work on it besides us." He said. For the first time in a while, he gave her a genuine smile.

"Who else is working on it? I mean, I know that famous detective is working on it but, who else?" Bullet said.

"The Kira Task Force is composed of seven brave individuals. There were thirty of us to begin with but the other 23 backed out, because they were afraid that Kira could kill them too." He said.

"Ah, I see. Now that I've passed all the tests and confirmed that I am not Kira, may I join the team?"

"Well, you need to come with me then. It should be about time..." He muttered, looking at the clock on the wall. It was about 11:45. Bullet nodded. Soichiro grabbed his suitcase and a coat. The two headed down the elevator in silence. They walked down the street, to a hotel called the Park Plaza Hotel. Soichiro led her up to the fifteenth floor. They went to a door and he knocked on it carefully. Bullet heard someone say what sounded like, "Come in!" The two entered the room and Bullet saw him again.

It was L.

He was with Watari, sitting in front of a computer. Bullet caught his surprised expression as she walked into the room. She gave him her best smile. It put toothpaste models to shame.

"Good morning. We meet again." Bullet said.

"Oh, you two have met? That's good." Soichiro said. L stared at Bullet for a while, examining her very carefully.

"Chief, what is she doing here?" He said.

"This woman is interested in working with us on the case. I've taken the liberty of testing her to make sure she isn't Kira." Soichiro replied.

"Please take a seat, Miss." Watari said. She nodded and walked over to the seat. Her black heels clacked softly on the hardwood floor and she took off her beige trench coat. Bullet draped it behind her seat and sat there, with her every move being scrutinized. She had dressed nicely today. Bullet wore a sleek black dress with an asymmetrical neckline and a split hemline. Her hair was just straight, nothing special, but she looked very pretty today. If just her looks could kill, all of them would've been dead right now.

"So...you want to work on the case with us, correct? The first thing I will need from you is your name." L said.

"My name is Bullet." She said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Bullet...? Is that your real name?" L asked.

"It could be. Maybe I don't want you to know." She replied coolly. Bullet thought she saw L roll his eyes.

"Bullet, how would you benefit our task force team?"

"My deductive reasoning is pretty sharp. I don't take nonsense from anyone and I sure as hell won't back down from a fight. I don't want to sound narcissistic, but I'm a smart woman. I also don't give up easily, a quality almost necessary in a case like this." Bullet said crisply.

"Any other special skills we should be aware of?" L asked.

"I can defend myself if the situation calls for it. Escaping from a place isn't hard for me either. I think you can see that from earlier." She said with a slight smirk. Bullet decided to leave out the fact that she was an internationally wanted assassin. INTERPOL had even called her a ghost because she left no forensic evidence, no witnesses, and no traces in her kills. Bullet also chose not to tell L that she was responsible for more than 100 deaths.

And those were just the ones the police knew about.

"Yes, I can recall that very clearly..." L muttered. He glanced up at her and she looked back at him, ready to answer any of his questions.

"I have one last question. What is your last name?" He said. It took a minute or two for Bullet to come up with an answer. L looked at her expectantly. She thought she saw a triumphant gleam in his eyes. L had caught her in a tough spot. They stared at each other for a while.

"I can't tell you that." Bullet finally said.

"And why not?" He said as he gave her a wary glance.

"It's nothing personal. It's simply a precautionary measure. For all I know, you could be Kira." She said shortly. L stared at her, looking a bit surprised.

"If I were Kira, why would I be working on this case?" He said.

"You're one of the most unsuspecting people to be committing the murders. Being the world's greatest detective gives you access to international police databases. You have the ability to find out when a criminal committed a crime. For all we know, you could be working on this case just to cover up the fact that you're the killer." Bullet shot back.

"...That's a plausible theory. But I see one flaw in your theory that proves my innocence."

"What is it?"

"How could I kill criminals that are on the other side of the world?" He said.

"I don't know. Care to tell me that now?" Bullet said.

"I can't give you an answer for that simply because I don't know. You could be Kira as well, you know." L said emotionlessly.

"Why?" Bullet exclaimed.

"Your body language is telling me that you don't like my accusation. You might be afraid that I'll find that you're secretly Kira. To add to that, I don't know anything about you. You're just a random woman, who won't even give me her last name. Very suspicious indeed." L said.

"I don't know how to kill someone halfway across the world. I also don't know how to kill people with spontaneous heart attacks. I'm not Kira, I can assure you. I took a polygraph test and you can test me again if you need to." Bullet shot back.

"Indeed. But remember, this is all based simply on speculation." L said. She thought about the logic his words carried. He was right.

"And we could both be wrong and Kira could be someone else." Bullet said softly.

"Yes. What are your thoughts?" L said.

"When you stopped airing the names of criminals on television, where else did they get the information to kill criminals? That leads me to believe that Kira has some sort of connection the police." Bullet said. L paused and looked at her for a little bit. She saw an odd little half smile appear on his face.

"Good. I like your observations and tenacity. Even though I don't know anything about you, you will make an excellent addition to the team. Be here tomorrow morning at nine o'clock." L said as he stood up, looking pleased. Bullet felt like a great weight had been taken from her shoulders. All anxiety was gone now and a genuine smile broke out on her face.

"Yes! Thank you!" She said. Bullet unexpectedly gave L a hug and he blinked in surprise. She caught Soichiro and Watari staring at her and she pulled away quickly. Giving hugs was probably odd to them because in Japan, people didn't really show emotion. So getting a hug must've been quite awkward. Bullet looked down at the ground and she felt her cheeks flame red. (A/N: And yes, the thing about Japanese people not showing much emotion is true.)

"Sorry about that." She said, shuffling her feet awkwardly. Bullet let out an embarrassed laugh. L still looked surprised but he shook his head.

"That's fine. I suppose you should be excited." He said.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow then. Goodbye, then!" Bullet said, putting on her coat. She walked to the door and waved goodbye. When she left, L found an inexplicable half smile on his face. He hadn't met many women like her. Most of them would call him creepy or run away from him. She seemed nice enough and he didn't find her outer appearance too shabby either. But at the same time, he sensed that there was something about her that he found odd. While he asked her questions, he had looked her straight in the eyes. Her sanguine colored eyes held this sort of hungry expression and he came to the conclusion that the look in her eyes embodied a sort of insatiable desire to do something bad. L didn't like that look in her eyes at all. He shook his head and turned back to his work. Still, he wondered who she really was and why she was hiding her true identity.

* * *

Kyahahahahaha! Here we are! Bullet is finally on the case! What do you think will happen to her? Will she complete the kill or will the Kira Investigation get in the way?

Tell me your thoughts and drop a review!

(V) ;,,,; (V)


	5. Chapter 5: On the Job!

Oh, wherefore art thou, reviewers! I only got one review...**IT FEELS LIKE NOBODY IS READING THIS. **

I feel like I'm writing to ghosts.

This is exactly why this was late. I felt unloved so I decided to post it late. If you want more chapters then for the love of god, review.

I miss you** kuro13neko**, **XxPunkXPyromaniacxX**, **Yanderoid**, and **hikari-hime 01**! Come drop a review because I'm lonely :)

...

...

OK, I think my bout of writer's angst has passed. You're all safe (for now LOL)

Anyway, I have a **SHOUTOUT**!

_**Asp. Anime**: **YOU ANGEL. You were the only one who left a review. Thank you very much. By the way, Light might not appear until the later chapters. I'm trying to follow the actual Death Note timeline and he doesn't actually come in until the month of April. I'm only still in March so...he'll come in soon, I promise. But I guarantee you, when Bullet meets him it'll be interesting. True story, bro. **_

Anyway, enjoy. Please please PLEASE leave me a review. I really like those. Plus, leaving a review takes a grand total of 3 minutes or less. It doesn't take much time. Many thanks in advance :)

Happy reading! **(PS HAPPY OLYMPICS!)**

_Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN DEATH NOTE, OK? This fanfic is written just for fun and not for profit. All I own is this fanfic and Bullet Birthday. Other than that, I've got nothing. If I violate anything, you could totally take me down in court. No doubt about it._

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**_(March 15, 2004- 9 AM)_**

It had been about four weeks since Bullet was accepted to the task force team. She was officially one of them now. They had made excellent progress and she had immersed herself in the autopsy files of Kira's unfortunate victims. L found it quite interesting how she was able to stand so much blood and gore without any disgust whatsoever. She wasn't like other women he'd met, who would probably faint at the sight of a dead body. However, he had found only one thing that troubled him.

L didn't find any information that was linked to her true identity.

He had found out that she had bought her house by going under the name "Bullet Marie Hawthorne". L suspected that was an alias. Scratch that, he was almost certain that it was a fake name. Finding her real name honestly couldn't be that easy. All he found under her name was a birth certificate, a passport, and a couple other legal documents. He tried to track her parents down but the records said that they were dead and that she was bounced around from orphanage to orphanage. There was no more information after that because she ran away and disappeared for a while. To other detectives, finding legal papers seemed legitimate enough but L was looking for something else. He was searching for more personal things, like childhood photos and stuff like that. L didn't find any high school yearbook photos, achievements, or anything of that sort. With her skill, she must've had at least an award or honorable mention of some sort. L had finally arrived to the judgement that she was either a reclusive and introverted teenager or that Bullet Hawthorne didn't exist.

Bullet walked inside L's room. She was carrying 3 cups of coffee, one for her, Watari, and L. Since she was usually the first of the detectives to get there, Bullet had gotten used to bringing them something to eat. She brought them both food because Watari usually stayed up late, working with L. In her mind, Bullet compared L to a machine. He did not rest until the task was done. It was a little unreal, but she got used to it quickly. That was how her brother used to work on things. She didn't have much trouble adjusting to her new lifestyle.

"Good morning. I bought some coffee for you today." She said, handing L a cup. He was sitting in front of the laptop, looking quite focused. L was stacking a plate of sugar cubes with one hand and working on his laptop. His multitasking abilities simply amazed her. L could be drinking a cup of coffee while solving 3 different cases at the same time. Bullet gave one to Watari, who also thanked her.

"Thank you, Bullet. Now, let's see..." L replied as he stood up to throw something away. He took a large gulp of coffee and promptly proceeded to spit it out.

"Cough...Ack, what did you do to that coffee?" He choked out.

"I didn't do anything to it! What's wrong with it?" Bullet said, looking startled.

"Horribly...bitter! You could have added more sugar." L said to her.

"But L...I added like, 3 packets of sugar. That's how much I put in Watari's. Isn't that enough?" She said exasperatedly.

He gave her a strange look. "Of course not. Ten is usually the amount I require."

"..."

Words absolutely failed to reach her.

All Bullet could do was simply stare.

"Ten? You are going to die from your sugar intake someday!" Bullet argued. They argued about the proper intake of sugar until Watari decided to intervene.

"You two argue like a married couple." He said teasingly.

"Of course not!" They denied. Bullet turned away from L, looking utterly appalled. Watari gave an amused chuckle. Denial was always the first step to attraction. It was a simple fact of life. L sat back down on his chair in the same odd knee-hugging position. The man focused on his computer again, like he did before she came. He continued to examine some files, and his expression was thoughtful. L didn't say anything and for a second, Bullet thought he was sleeping. But that couldn't be right, his eyes were open...

On the other hand, he probably stayed up all night working again. She knew that he worked a good deal harder than them. It made her wonder why he was so diligent with this case. Did he ever sleep? Bullet handed a plate of sugar cubes to L, to sweeten his coffee.

"I'm fine. Just set them down." He said, not looking away from the screen. Bullet did as told and peeked behind his shoulder.

"Why do you work so hard?" She asked.

"I want to win. I'm not going to lose to some serial killer with a megalomaniacal complex." L said stubbornly. Bullet laughed at him lightly.

"Your determination is quite impressive, L." She said. He didn't reply and kept typing something on his computer.

"You're here quite early, Bullet." Watari said.

"I wanted to see if L was doing fine. Do you ever sleep?" She said.

"Sleep is not something I worry about usually. I don't tire at all." L replied.

He didn't say anything more. L was distracted by the files in his hand. Bullet set her bag down on the table and opened the folder of autopsy files, trying to look for other factors that tied the Kira victims together. L suddenly turned to face Watari.

"Watari, do you remember what Beyond told us when we interrogated him two years ago?" L said.

"Oh, yes. That was an interesting bit of news. I wasn't sure if he was just joking or not. Why do you ask?" He said.

"Well, he told us about those shinigami eyes of his. He said that he could see people's names floating above their heads. Maybe Kira is like Beyond. It would explain how he gets the names of the people he kills." L said.

"That would certainly make sense. Why don't we ask him ourselves? He can't be doing much in prison." Watari suggested.

"We could let him out temporarily to work with us. He would have to be kept under close observation, though. I've been told that he's mentally...unstable." L said.

"Yes, that's a good idea. Maybe he knows something about this case that we don't." Watari replied.

"I'll take Bullet with me. I still think that she's somehow related to him. If she recognizes him, then I can finally pinpoint her identity." L said in a low tone. The two men stopped and looked at the raven haired woman. Bullet was at the whiteboard and she was scribbling something quickly. It didn't look like she had heard much of their conversation. They were the names of Kira's victims.

"Bullet, may I ask what you're doing?" L said as he stood up and headed over to her.

"I've been thinking about this all night. I noticed something odd while examining the files of last month's murders. Kira has been less active since the beginning of February. Only ten people were killed that month, which is really strange. His victims are all arranged by date in my list." Bullet said. She looked like she was deep in concentration. L looked at the names. The list said:

_**Lester Stockton**_  
_**Harper Irving**_  
_**Nisio Isin**_  
_**Geoffrey Adams**_  
_**Mikael Ivanovich**_  
_**Leanna Olson**_  
_**Viktoria Emmerson**_  
_**Andrew Poole**_  
_**Paaveli Ljubeça**_  
_**Edward Sampson**_

"This matters why?" He said skeptically. Bullet didn't answer. She took out a red marker from her pants pocket. The woman took off the marker and scribbled on the whiteboard in a hurried and almost chaotic manner. L watched as she circled the first and last name of each victim.

"Watch. You might find it interesting." She said. Bullet erased the rest of the person's name except for the circled portion.

_**LS HI NI GA MI LO VE AP PL ES**_

"There...now, to put it in coherent English..." She muttered. When she was finished, it looked like this.

_**L SHINIGAMI LOVE APPLES**_

Bullet turned back to him. "I'm pretty sure Kira's trying to tell you something."

"Excellent work, Bullet. You're quite sharp." He said. L didn't dole out compliments very often, but he was genuinely impressed this time. Even he had been too busy working on other things to notice that.

"Why would Kira bring up something like this, though? It makes no sense whatsoever. How on earth does this correlate to the case?" She asked, staring up at the board in confusion. The woman bit her lip, looking lost in her thoughts.

"It seems rather random, doesn't it? By the way, I was going to ask you something." L said. Bullet turned to look at him.

"What is it?"

"Well, I need you to go to Los Angeles with me." L said.

"Why?" Bullet said, looking puzzled and a little alarmed.

"We're recruiting a new member to the team. He might know more about this case than we do. Especially if it concerns the mythical shinigami." L said.

"Wait, who exactly are we recruiting?" Bullet said. She had a bad feeling settling in her gut. It sounded like he was talking about her brother.

"We are recruiting Beyond Birthday, the culprit of the Los Angeles BB murders. Have you heard of him?" L said.

"Oh...I see. I guess it takes a killer to know a killer, doesn't it?" Bullet said.

"Exactly. I'll arrange for a flight today. We will probably be leaving tomorrow." L said.

"Ok, then." Bullet said. The other detectives arrived at staggered hours and everyone worked until the end of the day. After lunch, L had booked a flight for both of them. They would be flying business class and their flight would leave from Narita International Airport tomorrow at 10:30 PM. That was good, because they could still get a whole day of working in.

"Bullet, our flight is leaving tomorrow evening at 10:30. Watari will drive us there after we're done working here. While we're in public, please refrain from calling me L. My name will be Ryuzaki." L said as she was putting on her coat.

"Huh? Ok, sure. How long will we be gone?" She asked.

"About a week and a half." L said.

"Why are we staying so long?" Bullet said.

"It's a precautionary measure. I haven't heard back from the Los Angeles Federal Prison and they usually get back to me as soon as possible. It's either they're hiding something or he was transferred to a different prison." He said.

"Oh, ok. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." Bullet said. She waved goodbye and headed out into the night. As she walked to the metro, she tried to fight off a feeling of nausea. What would she do once they got there? Beyond had been out of prison for years now. She had bribed the sheriff to let him out. If she just waltzed into the Los Angeles Federal Prison and asked for her brother, they would think she was crazy. Or worse.

They might even recognize her.

Bullet decided that she would jut contemplate her options tomorrow. There was no use worrying about it now. She would just have to get through it.

Somehow.

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I'll admit, this one was actually a little short. I tried to make it longer. I try to make each chapter about 2,000 words but I barely made my quota this time. I am very sorry about that.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading it! Don't forget to review! Ha, I've mentioned that like four times now so you better not forget!

Bye-bii~!

(V) ;,,,; (V)


	6. Chapter 6: And So It Begins

Oh! Three reviews! I feel so much better now. Thanks guys!

Here are my daily SHOUTOUTS!

_**Wisty: Thanks so much for your review! You have no idea how happy it made me. I seriously have this super silly smile on my face that won't go away. I really appreciate all you advice because it was so detailed and I am now aware of the areas that I have to improve on. I will definitely use it to make the next chapters better. Again, thanks a bunch. I hope that you continue to follow this story!**_

_***.*.*.***_

_**Asp. Anime: Oh hai there, friend! Thanks for you lovely review. What do you think will happen during their prison visit? You'll know...in the next chapter! Yeah, sorry about that. I almost added it in this chapter but I decided that I didn't want to rush it and just wait for the next one. By the way, I read your story and I left a review (actually I accidentally left 2). As I said in my review, it's really good! I love Amora Sai's character and I cannot wait to see what more she does. I like the concept of it and it's cool. It actually gave me a sort of idea for a next story so keep an eye out for it!**_

_***.*.*.***_

_**Yanderoid: OH YAY! YOU'RE BACK! I'm glad you liked my new chapter! By the way, I won't ask about the stalking thing. I'm sure we've all stalked someone at some point in our lives :) By the way, I do have a timeline for this. I got it off the Death Note wikia site and I'm not quite sure if it's accurate but hey, it's pretty good. By the way, I'm glad you like Bullet. Some parts of her may resemble Naomi but I decided to make her eyes red because they were born with it. Plus it makes things fun. Anyway, what's my secret to updating? Well, I actually came up with the idea to this story in December last year and I haven't gotten to publish it because I was planning how everything would work out. But the main reason that I can update is because for all of your wonderful reviews! They motivate me. By the way, I'm sorry to say that there won't be lemon. It might be just be implied because I can't really write that sort of thing and I'm trying to stick to the rating but there MIGHT be something. I won't spoil it yet. I'll keep you in suspense.**_

[insert disclaimer here...blah blah blah...I don't own Death Note but I own this story and Bullet Birthday...blah blah blah-ish things]

Ok. This chapter will be released exactly at midnight. Watch, it'll be AWESOME.

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**_(March 16, 2004)_**

Bullet walked into the Park Plaza Hotel at around 8 in the morning. She headed up the elevator and clutched the duffel bag that she was carrying. Bullet waited patiently as people came out. The sweet aroma of the coffee she held in her hands wafted up her nose and she let out a sigh. There was nothing she loved more in this world than a good cup of coffee. An elderly woman with a cane walked next to her and Bullet stood patiently as she got in.

"Which floor, ma'am?" Bullet asked.

"Tenth please..." The old woman murmured. Bullet pressed the button for the tenth floor and then another for the fifteenth floor. The woman looked up at Bullet and a look of surprise crossed her face. She smiled benevolently at her and Bullet tried hard not to stare. What a creepy old lady.

"Be careful dear...those eyes will hurt your loved ones." The woman whispered as she pointed a gnarled finger at her. Immediately, Bullet was startled. Did she know about the shinigami eyes?

"Excuse me ma'am, but what are you talking about?" She replied.

"You have the devil's eyes, dear. Few people on this earth have blood red eyes." The woman said.

"Um...ok? Thanks, I think." Bullet replied. The elevator arrived at the tenth floor and the old woman smiled at her again before getting off.

Bullet thought she was just plain crazy.

She went up to the fifteenth floor and fumbled with her key. Today she had brought scones and coffee. Bullet tucked the paper bag under her arm and unlocked the door. L and Watari immediately looked up at the sound of her arrival.

"Good morning." She said. Bullet set the bag of scones on the table and handed L and Watari their coffee. L's lips curled up into a smile when he saw a label scribbled on the side of his coffee cup.

"Bullet, why does my coffee have **_Sugary Death Coffee_** written on it?" He asked.

"I had to differentiate yours somehow. Who wants to drink a cup of coffee with fourteen sugar packets in it on accident?" Bullet said as she cleaned up the scattered files on the desk. She tucked a stray strand of black hair behind her ear and set her bag down on the chair. The woman took her coat off and walked over to L to get her daily assignment.

"I see your point." L said. He sat back down at his laptop and sipped at his drink. The month of February was proving to be quite unfruitful for the task force team. Kira was still killing criminals but there wasn't a lot to go on. L was trapped in a bad position. He had no choice but to wait for Kira's next moves. On the other hand, L had heard on the news that a few days ago a woman had disappeared without a trace. Her name was Naomi Misora. He knew her personally because he worked with her on a couple cases. Really, it was a shame that she had to quit the FBI...

"So, what do you need me to do today?" She asked, interrupting his train of thought. Bullet sat down on the seat next to him and waited patiently for her daily task.

"I need you to try and contact the Los Angeles Federal Prison and see if they still have Beyond. They haven't answered me and they usually get back to me as soon as possible." L said.

"That's a tad suspicious. Maybe they're hiding something." Bullet suggested.

"Exactly. Their lack of an answer almost makes me presume that he's been moved to a different facility. They might've moved him to a mental institution..." L muttered. A slight feeling of annoyance shot up in her veins. Did he just call her brother crazy?

"No!" Bullet snapped. She stepped back a little bit and flinched in surprise. Her voice came out sounding a lot sharper than it should've. L's full and undivided attention was on her now.

"Oh...? Is something wrong, Bullet?" He asked, with a wary gleam in his eyes.

"I...I-I mean, if he was transferred to a mental institution then don't you think there would be some sort of records for his transfer?" She said, stuttering out a feeble excuse.

"Yes, I suppose that would be the case. Speaking of which, I'd also like you to review his file. You might find out if he was moved to a different prison. If so, then please do everything you can to track him down." He said as he handed her a heavy Manila envelope. Their fingers brushed briefly and the touch of his hand sent a jolt of electricity through her body. It literally shocked her (no pun intended) simply because she'd never felt that kind of feeling before. Bullet immediately snatched her hand away from his like she had been burnt and the files fell to the floor. L gave her a questioning look.

"Is there something wrong today?" He asked as he picked up the envelope for her.

"N-no...I'm fine. Don't worry about it." She replied. Bullet felt a blush rising to her cheeks and she felt her heart pounding in her chest. What was wrong with her? She quickly turned away from him. Watari was smiling at the two of them for some reason and she couldn't figure out why. L looked at her and watched her work for a while, wondering why she was acting so oddly today. Maybe something had happened earlier that morning. No, that couldn't be it. She had only started her strange behavior after he mentioned Beyond being mentally institutionalized. But why did that bother her? Maybe they really were related. If they were siblings then that would explain why talking about Beyond was a touchy matter.

After about an hour, Bullet let out an annoyed sigh. She had called the prison about three times now and every time she asked about Beyond, they would hang up on her. Bullet was speaking to a different person each time and she was getting a little annoyed. She whirled her chair around and she had her arms folded across her chest, looking very petulant while doing so.

"They keep hanging up on me. What do you want me to do?" Bullet said. L thought about her options for a second and decided to push his luck a little bit.

"Why don't you pretend that you're Beyond's sister?" He said coolly. Her reaction was priceless. She looked totally startled, like a child being caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

"I beg your pardon?" Bullet finally said.

"That's right. Pretend to be his sister, calling in to check on the well-being of her brother." He said.

"If you only knew..." She murmured as she twirled her chair back around to face the desk. L looked up at her in slight surprise. He hadn't fully comprehended her words but he thought that she had said something.

"Did you say something, Bullet?" L said.

"Not at all." She said casually. How strange. He was sure she had said something...but what? L kept a watchful eye on her but she was busy with her work. The prison pretty much refused to talk to her. It was incredibly annoying. The two didn't speak until about an hour later. At a quarter to ten, Matsuda entered quietly into the room. He could practically smell the aroma of coffee all the way from the door. The young detective briefly wondered what would happen if L got his blood drawn. Would the doctors find coffee instead? Honestly, he found it simply amazing that L wasn't a fat-ass. The man sat at his computer all day, getting pretty much no exercise. He set down his suitcase next to the door.

"Hi, guys." He said cheerily.

"Good morning, Matsuda." Bullet said as she gave the man a wave.

"Morning, Bullet. What are we doing today, Ryuzaki?" He asked.

"I'd like you to work with Bullet. She's trying to track down someone." L said, not taking his eyes off his computer.

"How lucky! I get to work with a pretty girl today." Matsuda exclaimed. She saw L stiffen from his position on the chair and he didn't look at the two of them. Bullet decided to get more of a reaction out of him, curious to see what it would do.

"Why, thank you! I do enjoy being called pretty once in a while." She said. Bullet noticed that he had tried to ignore them by working again. What went on in his mind? Honestly, L could be so mysterious sometimes. She dipped a finger absent-mindedly into her newly made cup of coffee. It was still kind of hot but she wasn't going to burn herself. Matsuda, on the other hand, was feeling quite chatty this morning and he was talking about some woman he had seen on TV.

"-he police say that she just vanished without a trace! Isn't that crazy?" The man exclaimed.

"Quite. I hope they find her." Bullet answered as she took a sip of her coffee. To be honest, she had no idea who he was talking about. She hadn't been really listening but was she going to let Matsuda know that?

Obviously not.

"Matsuda, I would actually like to change your daily assignment. Your task is to investigate the disappearance of Naomi Misora. She was one of my colleagues and I would like to know if she simply disappeared or if she, by any chance, killed herself." L said (a bit stiffly, it seemed to Bullet) as he handed Matsuda another folder. The young woman immediately turned around to stare. Did L really just change his assignment, just like that? She briefly wondered if he could be jealous of Matsuda for openly flirting with her. Could he be jealous? If he was, then why? He couldn't possibly like someone as complicated as she was. Bullet mentally scolded herself for thinking such ridiculous thoughts and went back to work. As far as she knew, L was the target. She couldn't go falling in love with him now!

But wait, he had said something else. That's right! L had mentioned the Misora girl. Naomi Misora was the woman that had captured her brother. Beyond had somehow fallen in love with her while they were working. Bullet hadn't known exactly what he saw in her but Beyond claimed that he simply adored how she was able to tolerate his level of guts and gore and also how she figured out his little game. Ah, c'est la vie...

"Hold on, Naomi Misora? The Misora Massacre?" Bullet said.

"Yes, I'm surprised that you recognize her name." L said. He had a questioning look in his eye but Bullet decidedly ignored it for the time being.

"But...did she really just vanish? What could have happened to her?" Bullet muttered. She would find a picture of her later and see her death date. If Misora was really dead, then her brother would be heartbroken. L watched her with an odd look on his face. He was getting more and more convinced that she was related to Beyond. No normal person would recognize Naomi Misora's name simply because it was only mentioned on television once for the Los Angeles BB Murder Case. This was all very suspicious indeed. What could Bullet be possibly hiding from him?

For the rest of the day, the team worked on solving the Kira case. The task force members came and went at different times of the day except for L and Bullet. They were busy trying to contact the prison but they hadn't been able to get anything out of them. It was terribly frustrating. Bullet finally leaned back in her chair, looking irritated. She tossed the folder onto the desk and let out a huff of annoyance.

"This isn't going to work, is it?" Bullet said.

"We might as well just visit them tomorrow. In the meantime, I think we should leave for the airport now." He said. She agreed with him and stood up. It was 9:30 and they needed to go. They headed down to the lobby and Watari drove them to the airport. He took their bags out of the trunk and set them down on the sidewalk. The older gentleman gave them an encouraging smile.

"Good luck in Los Angeles. I hope everything goes according to plan." Watari said.

"Thank you. We'll see you soon!" Bullet replied. She began walking but stopped when she noticed that L wasn't following her. Bullet glanced back and saw Watari and L talking in hushed tones.

"Remember, if you're going to make your move then do it now." She heard them say.

"How did you know that I...you know." L said.

"It's obvious. I'm kind of surprised that she hasn't seen it yet." Watari said.

"Are you talking about me?" Bullet asked. Both men turned to stare at her. For some reason, L's cheeks were pink. He met her gaze and quickly looked down at the ground. She tilted her head to one side and wondered what was going on.

"Let's just go." L finally said as he picked up his bag. She just shrugged and walked with him into the bustling airport. They weaved in and out of the crowds and somehow made it to the airline counter in one piece. Their flight would leave Tokyo at 10:30 and arrive in Los Angeles at 4 in the afternoon. The prison closed at four so they would have to wait one more day to visit Beyond. After checking in, they went through airport security. The man looked at their passports and glanced back at them.

"Is your name really Bullet?" He asked skeptically.

"Yep. My father liked guns so he decided to name me Bullet." She said smoothly.

"I've never heard that kind of name before, but ok." The man said with a shrug. She flashed him a disarming smile and the guard let them pass.

After a half hour, the two boarded the plane but L couldn't find anything to say to her. During the first hour of the flight, he caught her dozing off. Bullet genuinely looked tired and she let out a yawn.

"Bullet, we can switch seats if you're tired." L said.

"No, it's ok." She replied.

"Are you sure?" He said.

"Yeah, sure whatever..." Bullet mumbled. She was soon asleep and L figured that there wasn't much else to do. About an hour later, a flight attendant passed by and smiled at the two. Bullet had her head on L shoulder and they were both asleep. What a cute little couple. She switched the main lights off and they were soon engulfed in darkness.

_**(March 16, 2004: 4 PM)**_

"_-adies and gentlemen, I would like to wish you all good afternoon. We are circling above Los Angeles. It is 8 AM in Tokyo right now but our local time is 4 PM and we will be landing in a half hour." _The pilot said over the intercom. Bullet and L both woke up with a start. She looked at him and then back at herself.

"Oh! I slept on your shoulder, didn't I? I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. L ran a hand through his hair and let out a yawn.

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it." He said. She finally realized something that she found shocking.

"Were you sleeping?" Bullet said incredulously.

"Yes. I need to sleep once in a while."

"Huh. Aizawa is a liar then. He told me that you didn't need to sleep."

"I'm only human, Bullet. I can't stay awake forever." He replied. Bullet thought she saw a hint of a smile on his face but it was gone the next time she looked.

"That's true." She finally said. L didn't say anything more and she suddenly realized how awkward this whole trip was. It was just her and him, nobody else. They were alone with each other and of all people, she got stuck with him. Bullet knew that sometime during this little escapade would be a good time to kill him but somehow, she lacked the resolve to do it. After spending a month working on the Kira Case with him, she began to doubt herself. He wasn't that bad. Why did A hold a grudge against him? Bullet spent the duration of the flight arguing with herself. At the end of these mental debates, she was always faced with a tough decision.

Was it really right to kill L Lawliet? If it was, could she do it?

The plane's jarring impact quickly snapped her out of her thoughts. She thought she saw L staring at her but dismissed it. Bullet got out of her seat and reached for her bag in the overhead compartment. She stood on her toes but she still couldn't reach it. Bullet let out a little huff. This was the part she hated most about airplane travel. She could never reach her bag!

"May I?" L said, with a slight smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes but stepped aside.

"Go ahead." Bullet said. He took it down with ease and they went off on their way. They passed the flight attendants at the front and neared the door. One of the women, named Sally, gave them both a bright smile.

"Have a great day! By the way, you two are a very cute couple." The woman said. The two were immediately startled.

"Oh, no. It's not like that..." Bullet said, looking embarrassed.

"She's just a co-worker of mine." L said smoothly.

"Really? It doesn't look like that." The woman said teasingly. Bullet walked off quickly and looked straight ahead, trying to hide the blush on her face. L walked behind her and she didn't dare to look at him. The two walked to the entrance of the LAX Airport and hailed a taxi. The taxi driver threw their bags into the bag and took a puff out of his cigarette.

"Where to?" He drawled.

"251 South Olive Street, please." Bullet said politely. The man grunted in response and they spent the majority of the taxi drive not talking. The radio blared loudly to contrast Bullet and L's silence. In their minds they were both sure of one thing.

This would be a very awkward trip.

Indeed.

* * *

Alright, that's it for now! The prison visit will be next chapter and chaos may or may not ensue! Anyway, I hope you liked it! I actually had a lot of fun writing the first half of this one. If you were expecting the prison visit in this one, I'm sorry that I didn't get to add it! The last bits were where I got kind of lax. Anyway, next chapter will be cool. I promise.

Until then, my readers!

(V) ;,,,; (V)


	7. Chapter 7: Between The Bars

YES! I BARELY MADE THIS ON TIME!

Anyhoo, I have an important announcement! Some of these chapters might be late because for one, school is starting and I will probably be busy and two, I lost my flash drive and all of my documents and files were kind of on there. I'm sure it's around my house somewhere but don't freak out if I update on a Sunday or something!

Anyway, onwards to the good stuff!

_**Asp. Anime: Oh, thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you'll like this one too :)**_

[insert disclaimer crap...I only own this fanfic and Bullet Birthday...henh henh henh...]

* * *

**(March 17, 2004: 10 AM)**

Bullet sat on the little couch and took a sip of her coffee. The warm aroma wafted around the room and it managed to wake her up a little bit. L was working on his computer, seemingly unaffected by the difference in time zones. There was a sixteen hour difference between Tokyo and Los Angeles and it was 2 AM in Tokyo time. They were going to visit the prison at around 11 and Bullet was totally dead. It was official, jet lag was a bitch. She rested her elbow on the arm of the chair and let out a sigh.

"Tired?" L asked, not looking up from his laptop.

"Hell yes. Why do we have to visit them now? Why not later at 2 o'clock?" Bullet groaned. She rubbed her temples and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her head was throbbing and she forced down another gulp of coffee.

"We'll go now because visiting hours end at 4 and we might encounter some problems on the way." He said shortly.

"Fine. Are you sure that we can just drop in for a visit without notifying them?" She asked.

"They'll probably let you see him if you pretend that you're his sister." L replied as he hid his amused smirk. Bullet had that look on her face again. She always looked shocked whenever he suggested this. He couldn't figure out why this bothered her so much. It could work. Bullet looked like a female version of Beyond.

He took a small bite of his shortcake and bit at the fork tines thoughtfully. L looked at Bullet and silently admired her. Her bangs fell across her forehead and by the way the light hit her, her ink black hair seemed to glow. Bullet's slender fingers were rubbing her temples, making her look more stressed than usual. To him, it didn't matter. L thought that she looked pretty even when she was tired.

"Do you seriously want me to pretend that I'm his sister?" She asked.

"I think that it would be best if you did. If we showed up under the identities of normal people and told them that we needed to see him, they would probably make us go through their long and ridiculous visiting process whereas if you said that you were his sister, they would probably let you see him." L answered.

"But isn't that illegal?" Bullet said incredulously.

"...My methods may seem unethical but it will end up getting us what we came for." He pointed out. There was an bemused smile on her face.

"That's devious. I like that in a guy." Bullet muttered. He glanced up and gave her an odd stare.

"What was that, Bullet?" L said. Her eyes grew wide and she looked down at her lap.

"N-nothing! Carry on." She replied as she fiddled with the edge of the sofa. Bullet sat there, trying to hide a growing blush. She did not just say that out loud. Bullet took another gulp of her coffee and was surprised to find it all gone. Had she really just finished the entire cup that quickly? Time must fly when you're accidentally flirting with the greatest detective in the world.

She tossed the cup in the trash and went to get dressed for their prison visit. It was about 10:45 and they needed to be going soon. Bullet opened up her suitcase and pulled out a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Bullet put on a pair of black contacts to disguise her eyes. They made a nasty, dark red shade against her eyes but she didn't mind. It was only for safety precautions anyway. She put on her sneakers, tied her hair into a ponytail, and went out to the living room to meet L. He raised an eyebrow at her disguise but made no objections.

The two rented a car and made their way to the Los Angeles Federal Prison. It was a tall, grey building that rose out of the trees of the Angeles National Forest. The prison was deep in the woods to discourage prisoners from escaping. They parked in front of the prison and went through the glass double doors. L walked up to the receptionist's desk and greeted the receptionist lady, whose name was "_Ellie_". The woman was pretty and young, in her late twenties maybe. She inspected them carefully, as if trying to predict who they were. Bullet noted that Ellie was giving L a curious look and she had a flirtatious twinkle in her eye.

"And what can I do for a handsome young man like you?" She said as she leaned slightly forward. L didn't seem to notice her interest at all.

Or did he?

Bullet couldn't tell. Either way, she felt another odd feeling arising inside of her. Was it...jealousy? She shuffled her feet quietly, trying to shake the sensation off.

"My wife here would like to visit her brother." He replied shortly, grabbing Bullet's hand suddenly. Ellie's eyes widened and she stared at the two. Bullet suppressed the unbearable urge to smack L on the arm. How could he pretend that they were married?! L squeezed her hand and Bullet cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Ah...yes. My name is Beatrice Birthday. I'd like to see my older brother, Beyond. I believe I called you a couple days ago?" Bullet said, giving the woman a smile. L was silent and let Bullet continue. He wondered why she had changed her name at the last second but didn't say anything. He would ask her about it later.

"Oh! You'll have to talk to the chief about that then. He's down the hall, the third door on the right." Ellie said, laughing nervously.

"Thank you very much." Bullet said while flashing her a scintillating smile. The woman squirmed in her seat uncomfortably. This had turned out to be a lot more...embarrassing than it should have. L walked down to the door with her but he felt Bullet stop.

"What?" He asked.

"You can...oh, you know...let go of my hand now." She whispered, not even bothering to hide her pink cheeks.

"I cannot. We have entered the building pretending to be husband and wife so we must keep the act up until we leave." L said. She stared at him, with her eyes widening in surprise. L hid an amused smirk and led her onward to the door. He knocked politely and entered at the sound of a man telling them to come in. _**(A/N: Keep in mind, Beatrice is Bullet's fake name)**_

At the desk sat a man with a battered looking expression. He ran a hand through his thinning hair but still managed to give them a smile.

"Hello," he told them. "Did you need something today?"

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Beatrice Birthday. This is my husband, Ryuzaki." She said. Oddly enough, the thought of calling L her husband didn't feel weird to her.

It actually felt...kind of fitting.

Bullet mentally slapped herself for thinking such thoughts. What the hell was she thinking? She couldn't fall in love with the enemy! Bullet ignored her further thoughts and shook the man's hand. What was his name again? His plaque said that he was Michael Karnowski, the chief of police.

"I'd like to welcome you to Los Angeles, Miss Birthday. What did you need?" He asked.

"Mr. Karnowski, I would actually like to see my brother right now. His name is Beyond Birthday and I'm sure he's here, isn't he?" Bullet asked. The man blinked and stared at her.

"Beyond Birthday," he echoed blankly. "But why?"

"Well, our mother just died about a week ago. She died from a heart attack, the poor thing. She left a letter for him and I wanted to talk to him about it." Bullet said smoothly. L couldn't help feeling impressed. Bullet could be an excellent liar if she wanted to be.

"I see...well, I'm sorry but I can't help you." Mr. Karnowski said, letting out a heavy sigh.

"And why not?" L said, raising an eyebrow.

"To tell you the truth...he's not in our possession anymore." The man confessed. Bullet pretended to look surprised.

"If he's not here, then where is he?" She said with fear laced in her voice. He let out another heavy sigh and twiddled with the ends of his moustache.

"Look...there was a woman who came here about two years ago and she claimed to be his sister. You know her?" He asked.

"I don't have any other siblings. She must have been a former girlfriend or something." Bullet explained.

"I see. That woman somehow convinced the former chief of police to let Beyond go. I don't know how she did it but they released him and when I came to work here a year ago, I was told by the old chief never to speak of this again." He said.

"So what do I do now? How will I find my brother?" She said with _panic_ rising into her voice.

"Please don't say anything about this, miss. None of this was our fault. We really don't need anyone else getting fired from here. We need all the help we can get." He begged.

"For now, my wife and I will look around and see if we can find him." L said. She nodded and wiped away at an invisible tear.

"Thank god. I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I hope you find him." Mr. Karnowski said as he led them out the door.

"Thank you. We'll do our best. Right, sweetheart?" Bullet said, nudging him gently.

"Yes. We'll see what we can do." L said stiffly. Mr. Karnowski said his goodbyes (with much relief, it seemed) and they headed out the door. Bullet sat in the shotgun seat and was faced with the same silence again. L had not said anything during the trip back to L.A. but she noticed that his knuckles were turning white around the steering wheel. She toyed with the loose string on the seat and avoided his stare. Had she overdone it with the whole wife thing? Why was he so silent?

After ten minutes, she finally came up with a semi-plausible explanation for his silence. For one, maybe he was just quiet. Maybe he was mad at her for taking the wife thing too far. Bullet finally concluded that he was probably pissed about Beyond. She blinked in surprise when she felt the car stop abruptly. Bullet looked around and saw that they were back at the hotel. He had not said anything during the whole trip, which (for once) was something that worried Bullet. They stood in total silence in the elevator and went back to their room. L did not look happy at all. She couldn't tell if he was thinking or if he was pissed. He sat down moodily at his computer and faced away from her. Bullet let out a sigh, took off her contacts, and sat at the couch. What now?

"Ryuzaki." She finally said.

"..."

"Ryuzaki, I need to ask you something." Bullet said, letting irritation creep into her voice.

"..."

No answer.

He bluntly ignored her.

Bullet just about lost it at that. Her temper had reached a boiling point and she had absolutely no patience left. Why was L ignoring her? She stood up, clenched her fists, and glared at him.

"L LAWLIET! Will you just fucking talk to me? What the hell is your problem?!" She shrieked. He immediately turned around at the sound of his real name. L's eyes narrowed.

"Why do you know that name?" He said suspiciously.

"Don't avoid the question!" She shot back.

"Nothing is wrong with me." L said. Bullet stopped and stared at him.

"There has to be something. You didn't say anything on the way back." Bullet pointed out.

"Maybe I was thinking." He replied coolly.

"About what?"

L stood up and came over her. God, he was tall. Bullet had never noticed it before but he just towered over her. She managed to swallow her fear and stood her ground. "I was thinking about the incompetency of some people and also where Beyond Birthday could possibly be. We are obviously not going to be able to find him since he's been gone for two years. If we're not going to find him, then what's the point of staying here?"

"Well, I guess you're right..." She said.

"Exactly. I'll try to get us out of here as soon as possible. Anything else?" L said, raising an eyebrow. He had a dangerous gleam in his eyes, as if he was daring her to say anything more to him. Bullet felt embarrassed all of a sudden. She felt kind of bad for snapping at him.

"No...sorry about yelling at you..." Bullet mumbled as she shuffled her feet awkwardly and looked at the ground. Bullet couldn't meet his eyes and she just sat back down again.

"That's fine." He said shortly as he sat back down to work. She couldn't tell if he was sincerely forgiving her for yelling at him. Bullet took the folder that she had brought along with her and inspected the files quietly. That was her task for the rest of the day. L was currently trying to contact the flight company to try and switch their flights. Apparently, it wasn't working. L finally got off the phone, looking a bit peeved.

"The flight company says that they can't switch our flight immediately. We have to stay here until the 20th." He said.

"Well, we've got about three days to waste in L.A. Why not enjoy it?" Bullet suggested.

"Enjoy it...?" L said. "Yeah. Haven't you ever taken a vacation?" She asked. L thought for a minute or two. Come to think of it, he hadn't taken a break from his work. Ever.

"How interesting." He murmured quietly, "I suppose a break would be nice. But...I don't think now is a good time. We are in the midst of solving a case"

"Well, then maybe that's why it's the best time." Bullet said suddenly.

"As the man leading this investigation I think we should..." L said, his voice faltering. He had been working on this case for a while now and in all honesty, he was getting a little sick of it. It had been dragging on for too long now. This case was probably the longest he had ever worked on. Most of them usually took about a week or two, depending on how interested he was in solving it. It was making him a little impatient, and he wanted results as quickly as possible. But L knew that being hasty would never get him anywhere.

He also had a feeling that he would be in a deadly stalemate for a while unless new clues presented themselves. Kira was a clever criminal, smart enough to leave him completely clueless at times. L was simply going by instinct about 45% of the time. Maybe Bullet was right. Maybe he did need a short period of rest, even if it was only for a few days. But on the other hand...

L didn't want to lose to Kira.

He was determined to solve this case. But at this point, what could be do? The man they were after had completely disappeared. The Los Angeles Federal Prison had no traces of his identity anywhere. To add to that, L was not up to date with what the task force team was working on.

Would he choose his own desires?

Or would he choose responsibility?

As L contemplated his decision, he caught Bullet watching him carefully.

"L, we're all entitled to a leave, you know. You don't have to keep working every day." Bullet said softly.

"A leave? At a time like this?"

"I just think that, you know, maybe you should rest for a while, recharge your batteries..." She said. He looked hesitant but finally answered her.

"Alright. I figure there's no harm in taking a short break. What do you suggest we do for three days?" L said.

"Well, I lived in Los Angeles for a while. I could show you around." Bullet replied.

"You used to live here?" He said.

"Yeah! Hey, we could even go to the beach tomorrow! Manhattan Beach isn't that far from here. It's about a 51 minute drive. Wanna come?" She offered.

L fought back a smile. Bullet had a sort of childlike excitement in her voice. He found it as a refreshing contrast to his usually serious personality. "I guess so..." L said. What else was he gonna do here? He might as well let Bullet drag him around Los Angeles. L figured that it might even be fun.

"Alrighty, we're going to the beach tomorrow! For now, I'm going to sleep, so good night." She said. He nodded affirmatively at her and she went off. After brushing her teeth, Bullet climbed into bed. She pulled up the covers to her chest and shut the light. Her eyes shut and she felt herself drifting off to sleep almost instantly. Maybe she wouldn't have the dream this time...

_**(THE DREAM)**_

_**Bullet found herself lying on the floor in an empty building. She stood up and looked around. This was no ordinary building. She could tell just by the walls that she was in the Wammy House. Bullet walked down a hallway and found a staircase. She glanced around and saw nobody else around her. The young woman was completely alone. Her breath hitched in her throat and she gulped.**_

_**She was having this nightmare again.**_

_**Bullet dared to walk up the stairs with quivering legs. She was almost at the top when she heard something behind her. Bullet heard shuffling noises and she turned around, with the familiar feeling of fear rising in her throat. She saw a small group of people walking behind her. They all turned to look at her and Bullet let out a gasp. She saw the faces of all of her victims. Some were clutching their bullet ridden chests and she saw a man waving at her with his dismembered arm. For a moment, she was frozen with fear while the people came closer.**_

_**"It's your fault we're dead." They whispered while giving her chilling smiles.**_

_**Bullet let out a scream and ran. She bolted up the stairs and ran headfirst into something. Bullet looked up and her eyes widened with fear when she saw more people standing before her. There was a man, holding his chopped off head in his arms.**_

_**"Come join us, Bullet." The head said while giving her an eerie grin. She shook her head indignantly and tried to back away from him. Bullet got up to go the other way but stopped when she saw another group of people.**_

_**"What did we do to deserve this?!" A woman wailed. Bullet stared in horror as the blood dripped down her stark white dress. She fought the unbearable urge to scream but lost. Bullet let out another shriek and pushed past the crowd. She ran down the hallway and stopped when she felt something grasp her hand. Bullet turned around and saw the face of a little girl. She realized that this was herself as a child.**_

_**"Who is really dead? Them or me? Look at yourself and maybe you'll see~!"Her younger self sang in a sing-song voice. By the way she said it, it sounded like a demented nursery rhyme. Bullet yanked her arm away and continued to run. She shoved open the door in front of her. There were more people and they looked at her with angry expressions. Their bodies were covered in gunshot wounds.**_

_**"No...please, no..." Bullet whispered. She had nowhere to go. She was cornered. Bullet heard noises behind her and saw more people swarming into the room. A man loomed over her with a malevolent smile. She saw the glint of his knife raised above his head and Bullet screamed bloody murder.**_

Her eyes flew open and the dream ended. Bullet shot up in bed and let out a scream. She covered her ears and tears began to well up in her eyes. The woman could still hear their voices, screaming in agony. Those were the cries of the lives she had taken. It echoed in her mind like a haunting dream and she constantly had to fight it away to keep her sanity.

"Please, leave me alone..." She murmured. All the faces of the men and women she had killed flashed before her eyes. Bullet stood up and walked around, in a futile attempt to distract herself. She took a few steps and stumbled to the far corner of the room. Bullet slumped against the wall and fell to her knees. She looked at her hands once more and saw that they were covered in crimson. Bullet blinked again and saw that her hands were of normal color again.

Her breathing went short and the room blurred for a second. She was crying now. Bullet rarely cried. She hugged her knees to her chest and buried her face in her knees. Bullet could still hear the voices of her unfortunate victims echoing in her mind. She knew all along that for every person she killed, their days were numbered and that the giant counter above their heads would eventually wind down to zero. And what was their cause of death? Her, of course. Bullet knew her powers were going to drive her to insanity someday. She was almost sure of it.

And speak of the devil...

Bullet stared at her shadow on the wall. It was cast by the moonlight and she saw the shadow move on its own accord. She fought back a scream. This couldn't be happenening...not here! The shadow manifested itself into a dark, humanoid figure and turned around to look at her. As always, the shadow figure had glowing red eyes and a grotesque shaped mouth with pointed teeth. She always thought that the apparition looked like the grim reaper, ready to take her soul. Bullet saw the shadow smile at her.

"I'm back again, Bullet. Did I bother you with those...memories?" It said.

"Why do you keep coming back?" She said. There was unmistakable fear in her voice.

"Tsk, tsk. That's no way to talk to the very being that saved your life. If these powers weren't bestowed on you, then you'd be dead." The shadow replied.

"Go! I don't know what you are, but leave!" She screamed. Bullet saw the shadow coming towards her and she buried her face in her knees. She heard the jeering apparition mocking her, trying to push her over the edge.

"Leave me alone...please..." She whispered continuously, hoping that it would make the monster go away. Sometimes, the apparition would appear on the night after she killed someone. She had tried to stop the murders before but the shadow would give her this insatiable urge to kill. Afterwards, it would eat away at her conscience by telling her that the people she had killed were human beings, just like her. They probably had hopes and dreams and she was the one who snatched their lives right out of their hands. It told her to kill, then made her guilty. She didn't even understand what it wanted anymore.

Eventually, she heard its taunting voice fading away and all she heard was the sound of her pathetic, sniveling self. Bullet stood up and walked to the bathroom. She cleaned herself up and made it look like she hadn't been crying. Bullet brushed her hair and walked into the living room area of their room, looking a bit dazed. L looked up at her from his position on the chair. He had a startled expression on his face.

"Was that you who screamed, Bullet?" He asked.

"Y-yeah. I'm sorry about that. I'll be fine, though." She said.

"You don't need to pretend like you're fine. I can help you." He said gently. Bullet was a bit surprised. He actually sounded concerned.

"I'm fine, thank you." She said. Bullet flinched at the sound of her voice. It had an edge to it but her voice cracked a little and it made her sound like she had been crying.

"I see..." He said. She was putting on a pair of flip-flops and L gave her an odd look.

"It's three in the morning. Where are you going?" L said, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm going to go buy some water from the vending machine down the hall. I'll be back." She said as she turned the doorknob. Bullet walked out of the room and down the hall. She took some coins out of her pocket but stopped. The young woman let out a sigh and put the money back. Bullet had to go. She didn't know where to go, but she just needed to blow off some steam. Bullet went into the lobby and caught an odd look from the receptionist. She must've looked very strange, walking out the door to a five-star hotel in a loose t-shirt and a pair of sleeping shorts.

Bullet left the Omni Hotel and walked down the street while taking several random turns. She had no idea where she was now. Her shadow was illuminated by the city lights and she found herself in downtown Los Angeles. The sidewalks were filled prostitutes, whoring themselves for money. She saw a couple gang members, beating up hobos. The streets of Los Angeles were a bad place to be after 11 o'clock. Danger lurked in every alley and every corner. She walked on, caught in the lights of the city. Bullet stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and sat down on a bench. She knew what she wanted to do. Bullet pulled out her phone and dialed her brother's number.

"Hello...?" A voice mumbled sleepily from the other end.

"Beyond, it's me. I need to talk to you." She said.

"Bullet? Do you realize that it's 3:30 in the morning? What the hell do you want?" He snapped.

"I...I'm sorry for calling you at a bad time. I need to see you. We wanted to talk to you about working on the Kira case." Bullet said.

"Wait a second, who's we?" He asked. Beyond sounded more awake and less angry now. One might say he even sounded curious.

"I'm with L. It's just the two of us. We're here in Los Angeles. Can we meet somewhere to talk about it?" Bullet said quietly.

"You're alone with L...? How interesting. Anyway, do you remember that one café we always used to go to after classes were done? The one about a block from the apartment?" Beyond asked.

"Are we meeting there tomorrow?"

"We are, so be there at noon. Until then, adieu." He said. She said goodbye as well and shut her phone. Bullet stood up and began walking again. In all honesty, she wasn't bothered by the fact that she was lost. Her mind was focused on matters other than directions. Bullet's thoughts were switching randomly from the Kira case to the matter concerning her brother. She was snapped out of her reverie when the phone in her pocket vibrated. It was from L. Bullet was startled at first but she answered the call anyway.

"Bullet, where are you?" He demanded.

"I...I don't really know." She confessed. L let out an annoyed sigh.

"I thought you were getting a bottle of water. What happened to that?" He asked.

"I don't know, L. I'm standing next to a building called "St. Peter's Italian Church". I got...sidetracked. I'm sorry." She said. He sighed.

"Alright, just get back here." L said.

"Ok. Sorry..." She mumbled. He hung up and Bullet took a taxi back to the hotel. She went back up to their room and opened the door. L stood up and came over to her. He looked annoyed and quite possibly, a little angry.

"Where have you been?" L snapped.

"I...well, I don't know really. I started walking and I somehow ended up in downtown L.A." She said distractedly. He noticed her faraway expression and sat her down on the couch.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing. I'm fine." She murmured. This just caused him to look even more concerned. L kind of felt bad for snapping at her now.

"That's not true. By your expression, something is wrong. What is it?" L said.

"No, no. I'm fine. Don't worry." She said, giving him a disarming smile. Bullet stood up and L grabbed her by the hand. The touch of his hand sent that same jolt of electricity through her and she looked at him with surprised eyes. He looked unsure but finally answered.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want you to be in this kind of state for the rest of our time here." He said.

"L, I'm fine. Really. Thanks for the concern though." Bullet said with a smile. After saying good night (or rather, good morning) she went back to the bedroom and tried to sleep again. For some odd reason, her pulse was still racing from their earlier encounter. Bullet didn't want to sound like a silly junior high girl but she felt inexplicably giddy. His fingers just brushed up against hers, nothing more. But still, his touch sent a sort of warm and fuzzy feeling through her. It was strange, something she had never felt before but she found it nice. As she tried to go to sleep, she found herself wondering what L's kisses were like. Would they be soft or-

"Whoa, back up there sister! Focus on your mission! Eyes on the prize!" Her inner conscience screamed. She shook her head and lay back down. Bullet knew that she couldn't fall in love with L. He was the target, after all. Maybe she could give him a chance and just terminate the mission all together. Even if she did fall for him, Bullet had no idea if he liked her or not. For all she knew, she could just be a mere acquaintance to him. He was so quiet. She could never tell what he was thinking. Bullet found herself smiling lightly as she drifted off to sleep.

Maybe she could give him a shot...

It wouldn't hurt, right?

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Five thousand words. This is the longest chapter I've written in my life. I swear to god.

I'm kind of proud.

Anyway, hope you liked it! I can't wait to post the next chapter and I hope you keep reading :)

(V) ;,,,; (V)


	8. Chapter 8: A Lovely Day in LA

Welcome to chapter 8 of the Sins of the Twins! I am updating early because I'm going on vacation this weekend. It'll be awesome!

First off, be warned: This is a fluffy chapter and L is probably going to be OOC in this chapter but I don't really care :)

**SHOUTOUTS!**

_**shirochan32: Oh hai derr, new friend! Thanks for the review! I guess great minds think alike when it comes to fanfics :)**_

_**Asp. Anime: You are an awesome person! You review for every chapter and I am really grateful for that. And, to answer your question, IS NAOMI REALLY DEAD? I said she disappeared but is she be dead? This is one of the few instances where I will deviate from the Death Note storyline. (*hint* she's hiding *hint*) Shh..don't tell anyone!**_

I hope you enjoy reading it!

**[Disclaimer: I don't own anything except this story plot and Bullet Birthday...if I did own Death Note, then why would I be writing fanfics?]**

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Bullet and L were enjoying their day off in Los Angeles. She had taken him around to see all the little hidden gems the city had to offer. The two were going off to lunch and Bullet drove them to a little café called "The Coffee Prince". It was small and held some sort of strange charm to it. There weren't any people inside except the employees and she led L inside. The two were seated at a booth by the window. He didn't know that this was the café she was supposed to meet Beyond at.

"I used to come here all the time for coffee. I love this place." She said.

"Well, their coffee does smell quite delicious. I'll put it to the test." L said. He noticed that she kept glancing at the clock periodically. Where the hell was Beyond? He was supposed to be here. She and L were the two in the café, save for the employees. The waitress came over, holding menus in her hands. Her face was covered with makeup and she wore tacky cat's eye glasses. L assumed they were only for show because he saw her wearing contacts. The woman was tall and was built like a man. He wondered if this waitress was a crossdresser. Her eyes were unnaturally blue and her black hair was tied into a short ponytail. For some reason, Bullet thought she had a familiar air around her but she chose not to say anything.

"So, what can I get you?" She said.

"I'll have a tall caramel macchiato and a slice of Coca Cola cake, please." Bullet said politely. Coca Cola cake sounded disgusting but it was actually really good. For some reason, L noticed that she just kept staring at the waitress. To be honest, he felt kind of bad for the woman. She was...pretty unattractive.

"I'll take a cup of Vienna coffee and a slice of strawberry shortcake." L said. The woman nodded and headed off. After they ordered, she kept looking around like she was expecting someone else. Bullet let out a sigh and sipped at her cup of caramel macchiato. It was sweet and frothy, just like she remembered it. She looked up from her coffee to find L just staring at her.

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?" She said self-consciously.

"No, not at all. I was just...looking at the board behind you. That's right..." He said, his voice trailing off. L mentally smacked himself on the forehead. That was probably the stupidest excuse someone could come up with! While he was scolding himself, L realized that no woman had ever made him this nervous. He figured that was to be expected, of course, since he was trying to express his feelings to her. Sure, he thought Bullet was a pretty lady, but that wasn't what he was after. What L really wanted a smart woman, someone who could take care of herself. She seemed to fit most of his qualifications...maybe she could give him a chan-

"No. Things could get messy we got romantically involved. But on the other hand, maybe I should just give it a shot. Does she even like me? Do I even like her that way? Well...I have to admit that I am attracted to her. Alright, I do like her that way. But I'll have to tell her in a subtle way..." He thought.

L fiddled with the paper in his pocket and sighed. The man took a bite of his cake was surprised to see it all gone. He must have eaten it all while he was thinking. It was Bullet's turn to stare at him now.

"Ryuzaki, are you ok?" She said quizzically.

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" He replied.

"You've been staring off into space for the past twenty minutes. Is something wrong?" She said.

"Not at all." L said.

Bullet gave him an odd look but nodded and stood up. "I'll be back in a sec." She said, giving him a smile. He felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of her smile and watched her walk off. Yes indeed, L Lawliet was in love. He called over the waitress for the bill and the woman set down a little tray with a receipt and two fortune cookies. He took one cookie and fished out the fortune with a fork. L took out the piece of paper from his pocket and pinched it at the sides. He slipped the fortune in and left a little bit of the paper to stick out, to avoid any confusion between the two. L set the tiny cookie on top of the receipt and sat there, satisfied with his work. He decided to read the paper that actually came with the cookie just for fun. It said only two words, which were **Be careful**. Why did that sound so foreboding?

About ten seconds later (maybe even less) Bullet came back to the table.

The woman cracked open her cookie and unveiled the fortune. He had chosen to write a somewhat corny line that he had heard Matt say a long time ago after seeing a pretty girl on the street. L found it amusing and hoped that she would catch the meaning of it. He felt anxiety rising in his throat when he saw her puzzled expression.

"What does your fortune say, Bullet?" He asked.

"Well, it says: I think you're a thief. You just stole my heart. I wonder what that's supposed to mean." She said, musing aloud.

"I don't know. Maybe someone is trying to tell you something." L hinted.

"Hmm, possibly. But that's too bad then. I don't really believe in these fortune things." She said as she put the paper in her pocket.

"..." L stared at her, trying not to look too horrified. This was going terribly! She didn't get the hint at all! Bullet didn't really take much notice of his appalled expression and put a twenty-dollar bill on top of the tray. The waitress came by and brought it to the cashier. She turned to look at L again and the man stared down at his lap.

"On n'aime que ce qu'on ne possède pas..." He muttered quickly.

She glanced up at him, looking surprised. "Did you say something, Ryuzaki?" Bullet asked.

"Not at all." He said curtly. She raised an eyebrow.

"If I heard correctly, that meant that we love only what we do not possess. Am I right?" She said. L tried to look like he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Bullet, I didn't say anything." He said.

"Yes, you did!" Bullet argued.

"No, I did not." L retorted.

"I'm sure I heard something." She said.

"That must have been someone else talking." He said stubbornly. Bullet rolled her eyes.

"Ryuzaki, we're the only people in this café. I'm sure that if someone said something, we would know." She replied.

"It wasn't me. Did you see my lips move?" He said.

"I'm pretty sure I did." Bullet said, looking amused. He stopped and they stared at each other for a while. L scowled and she could sense that he was sulking now.

"Fine. Maybe I did say it." He muttered.

"See, you did say it. But why?" Bullet said.

"You'll have to find that out for yourself." L replied, looking equally amused. She frowned at him and gave him a look which L didn't enjoy.

"Don't frown. It doesn't look good on you." L mumbled. Honestly, he was just making it obvious now.

"What?" She said, looking a bit taken aback.

"Nothing. Let's go." He said. She decidedly ignored their conversation and they left the restaurant. Bullet couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Why had her brother not shown up? Did he really not want to see her? Or maybe was it because L was with her?

They went around L.A. once more. After lunch, Bullet had dragged L over to Manhattan Beach and they spent the rest of the day on the beach. The two were walking quietly together down the boardwalk that afternoon. Overall, he had found the day very enjoyable. She was a sweet woman and he really did like being around her. L knew he was in love with her but he was unsure of how to proceed with the situation. He wanted to tell her about his feelings but was hesitant to do so. To be honest, he was completely useless in the love department. L was an introverted man at heart. He didn't really think much about romance, nor did he get the chance to learn more about it. Love was never a subject spoken of at the Wammy House. He had no idea what he was doing.

They passed an elderly man running a borscht stand. There was a little dachshund lying down next to him and its ears perked up as they came by. The tiny dog barked at them and circled around his owner's feet. The man looked up at them and a smile lit up his face.

"Well, well, well! Would you look at who it is? Bullet!" He exclaimed. The woman turned to look at him. She gave him a smile once she realized who he was.

"Old Man Dostoevsky! How have you been?" Bullet said, giving him a warm hug.

"Eh, I'm getting old but Milo here and my grandchildren keep me fit." He said as he picked up the little dog. The older gentleman scratched the dachshund behind the ear and looked at the two. He stared at L.

"Ah, and who is this young man?" He asked.

"This is my friend, Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki, this is my old friend Viktor Dostoevsky. I used to drive to Manhattan Beach after classes just to have some of his delicious borscht." Bullet explained.

"Nice to meet you, sir." L said politely. He shook his hand and the man smiled at them benevolently.

"You two make a very beautiful couple, da?" He exclaimed. Bullet's cheeks flamed pink and she looked down quickly at the ground. L looked at the man in surprise. Even their chemistry was obvious to other people! Didn't Bullet notice?

"No, no! We're not dating!" Bullet exclaimed. Viktor gave them another hearty laugh.

"Surely you must be! I can tell that you both like each other! Isn't it obvious?" He declared. L watched them argue but he didn't say anything. Viktor was right about him liking Bullet, but did she feel anything for him? Maybe they were just friends. In any case, being "just friends" was a bad thing for him. L had heard all about men who were stuck in the infamous "_**friendzone**_". If Bullet thought they were just good friends, then he would never have a chance with her! After sampling some of his borscht, they continued to walk around. Bullet enthusiastically pointed out all the best little shops.

When they were done touring around the beach, he brought her to a restaurant that night for dinner. It was the place were he and Watari used to go to every time they were in Los Angeles. The food was delicious and Bullet seemed to be happy just being with him. This time, he didn't try to tell her that he loved her because he had a brilliant idea. After dinner, they went walking on the beach. She set her flip-flops on a rock and ran into the cold water. He followed after her and walked on the wet sand.

"Come on, Ryuzaki! Join me!" She squealed. He smiled and just shook his head. L saw Bullet frown and she continued to frolic in the water. He picked up a stick and wrote an equation in the soft sand. It said:

_**Solve for i: 9x-7i (greater than sign) 3(3x- 7u)**_

_**(A/N: I have to put the whole greater than sign thing because apparently fanfiction doesn't save it. It kills it and I'm sorry. If you don't understand, follow the link on my profile.)**_

L stood next to his creation with a hopeful smile on his face. Maybe she would understand.

He really hoped that she would.

Bullet ran over to him, with her cheeks pink from running around in the water. She simply stared at the heart in the ground.

"Ryuzaki, are you seriously asking me to solve this?" Bullet said.

"Yes." He said. She just shook her head but there was a grin on her face. Bullet got down on her knees and took the stick. She almost got the answer but stopped.

"Why did you write this? I don't understand..." She groaned. He crouched down next to her and took her by the hand. L wrote down the answer with her finger and smiled as she stared at him. The answer was:

_**i (less than sign) **__**3u**_

_**I LOVE YOU.**_

Bullet didn't say anything. She was completely surprised. Nobody had ever confessed their love for her like this before. L watched her with growing concern. Did she return his affections? Did Bullet love him back?

"Well?" He said.

"...Do you really mean that?" Bullet whispered.

"Of course. I don't say things like that lightly." L replied, feeling a little bit offended. Did she think that he was kidding? He watched as she bit her lip, looking confused.

"Is something wrong?" He murmured.

"Well, yea-I mean, no. I don't want to sound cliché, but it's not you. It's me." She explained. His heart sank as soon as he heard those words. It was that age old line, once again.

L Lawliet was just rejected.

"Oh. I see." He said, trying not to sound too hurt.

"L, don't be like that. I'm sorry if that came off the wrong way. What I mean is that I'm hard to handle. My whole life is just one gigantic mess. Are you sure you want to get involved with someone as complicated as me?" She said gently. Her ruby red eyes tried to search his expressionless face but he didn't speak. L looked at her and he waited for her to further explain herself.

"I...just don't want you to get hurt because of me, that's all. Don't get me wrong, though. I am in love with you. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't think you did too. I mean, you're always so quiet. I wasn't sure if my feelings would be returned and I was scar-" Bullet said. L understood how she felt now. All the feelings of doubt he had before were quickly silenced. He put a finger to her lips.

"Bullet, I have something to ask you. If I move my mouth half the distance to yours…and then half again… and again…would they ever meet?" L said.

"Uh...maybe? No?" She said. Bullet was all sorts of confused now.

"So you say no? Well in this specific case, I am going to disprove your assumption." L said with a small smirk on his face. He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the lips. She was surprised at first but ended up kissing him back. In her opinion, he was a pretty damn good kisser. She put his arms around his neck and soon, the two were making out on the beach. When she pulled away, L noticed that she had a little blush on her cheeks.

"So you do love me?" He asked.

"Of course I do! I said it already! Why would I kiss you if I didn't?" She said. L looked away from her, trying to keep his feelings in check. His hard was beating as fast as a hummingbird's wings and his blood was pounding in his ears. Had she really just accepted his feelings? L never thought that she would! He figured that she would turn him down because of his...weirdness. Yes, the brilliant detective admitted to himself that he was an odd and...how to say this...ah, an emotionally challenged guy, so to speak. It was hard for him to open up to people. There wasn't much going for him. At this point, L could not come up with anything to say. He was so happy that it felt like he could burst.

"Um...I have to tell you something though..." Bullet said quietly. She had a blush on her face and she looked down a the ground.

"What is it?" He said.

"Well...don't laugh at me, alright? I actually don't know what real love is like. You pretty much just stole my first kiss. If I look like an idiot, don't be afraid to tell me." She said.

"I don't know what love is either, so that makes two of us." L said.

"Good. I thought I was the only one." She said, sounding relieved.

"Bullet, I'm what they call a hermit detective. I don't exactly get a lot of women. I think you are the first person I've ever really loved." He said as he got up from the sand. L helped her up like a true gentleman and they walked off (hand in hand, mind you) to the car to go back to the hotel.

"Aww, that's sweet. Is that why you said that thing at lunch?" She asked.

"What thing?"

"On n'aime que ce qu'on me possède pas. We only love what we do not possess." She said.

"Exactly. I'm glad you got it now. There was another hint too. Try and see if you can understand it now." L said with a slight smile on his face.

"Umm...I don't know. Really, I don't. I thought that was the only one." Bullet confessed.

"It was that fortune cookie. I took out the actual fortune and replaced it with my own." L said as he opened the door to the car. Her eyes widened in surprise and a smile lit up her face.

"Oh, that's really cute! Damn, I should've gotten the hint earlier." She muttered. L got in the driver's seat and they drove back to the hotel. On the way back, he put his hand on top of hers and they held hands. Bullet didn't complain. She was incredibly happy. Sure, this would mean that she would have to deal with A's fury for backing out of the mission but she didn't care in the least.

They arrived at the hotel and the two headed up to the room. L could tell that she was happy just by the look on her face. She was smiling and he gave her hand a little squeeze. L walked into their room and took off his shoes. Bullet headed off to go get ready for bed so L went to go take a shower. Meanwhile, Bullet was getting dressed to go to bed. She put her clothes on with a slightly dazed expression on her face. Bullet was on cloud nine right now. She never thought that he liked her back! L had now officially made her pretty much the happiest woman alive. The woman climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. She had turned out the lights and was surprised to hear the door open.

L came in. (_**A/N:**_ _**LE GASP, HE**_** SLEEPS?!**)

His hair was still slightly wet and he climbed into the spot next to her on the bed. Bullet turned around to face him. He saw her surprised expression and wondered what she was thinking about.

"I didn't know that you slept." Bullet said. He chuckled.

"I'm only human, Bullet. I need to rest once in a while. I'm not working at the moment, so I see this as the perfect time to do it." L murmured.

"But I always see you awake at night. Why don't you just sleep every night like a normal person?" She asked.

"I'm not a normal person, per se. I don't sleep because I don't feel tired. The other reason is because I don't want to lose to Kira." L said stubbornly.

"You're a workaholic. Don't overwork yourself." Bullet chided gently.

"I won't. Now, you should go to sleep. You must be tired from showing me around Los Angeles." He said as wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Good night. I love you." She said softly. Bullet gave him a kiss.

"Mmm. I love you too." L murmured. He kissed her on the forehead and she laid her head on his chest. The happy couple cuddled and talked about different things before falling asleep, entwined in each other's arms.

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Damn. I officially suck at writing romantic scenes but I hope you enjoyed it at least.

If a man used a math equation as a way to say I love you to me, I'd take him. That's a keeper right there :)

Read and review!

(V) ;,,,; (V)


	9. Chapter 9: Lunch Date From Hell

OH YEAH! Look who's back from vacation! We hit the beaches up in New Jersey and I actually didn't see that many guidos. It was really odd. I saw like, a few on the beach but not that much. I still have sand in my socks :) Anyways, moving onwards...

LES SHOUTOUTS!

_**SecretlyADemon: Hi! I'm so glad that you chose to read this story! New reviewers are always appreciated :) Anyway, I think I mentioned something about why Beyond chose not to go to the café in this chapter. You'll have to read on and see. But I did enjoy your review so thanks!**_

_**Asp. Anime: Hello again! I'm glad you liked the romance scene! Aren't they cute together? Anyways, I hope you like this chapter and don't forget to review for this one!**_

As always, I hope you enjoy!

**[I own Bullet Birthday, this fanfic, and nothing more...blah blah blah...]**

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_**(March 19, 2004- 10:38 AM)**_

Bullet felt the warmth of the sunlight streaming in from the window hitting her face. She let out a sleepy yawn and continued to cuddle with L. He didn't seem to mind at all and just buried his face in her hair. She let out a sigh and tried to believe that this was all real.

He was hers now.

Bullet knew that this relationship could end badly if she wasn't careful. She would have to call the whole job off with A and hide the fact that she was an assassin from him. Bullet couldn't even begin to think of the madness that would ensue if he found out what she really was. L was her boyfriend but he was still a detective.

He could still put her in prison, if he wanted to.

Bullet suddenly felt L stir and he sat up. She continued to sleep and he gave her a kiss on the forehead. L got out of bed and exited the room, leaving Bullet to wonder what he was doing. After a half hour, the door opened once more and she was hit by the rich aroma of coffee. She swung her legs off the bed, stood up, and let out a yawn.

"Good morning." L said. He gave her a small smile and handed her a cup of coffee. She stood on tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Morning!" She said cheerily. Bullet gave him an equally charming smile. L sat down at the little table and they drank their coffee together. Bullet noticed that L was a man of little words. He was not a conversational type of guy. But that was something she didn't mind at all.

"So, how do you want to spend our last day in L.A?" Bullet asked. L simply shrugged and took another bite of his cake.

"Well, we 13 hours to spend in L.A. What do you suggest?" He said. She stopped to look at him with an incredulous face.

"Wait, is our flight seriously at one in the morning?" Bullet said.

"Yep." L replied curtly.

"Perfect. I love early flights." She said with a groan. Her expression gave L a small smile and he took another sip of his coffee. Their silence was broken when Bullet's phone rang shrilly from the other room. She stood up and went off to answer it. When she picked up the phone, she could tell that it was her brother calling her. If the theme song from Psycho was playing, that was Beyond.

"Is this Bullet?" He asked.

"Of course, Dr. Birthday," Bullet said, letting irritation creep into her voice. "Who else would you think it'd be? By the way, where were you yesterday?"

He made a tsk-ing noise over the phone. "No hello? What kind of little sister are you? Henh henh henh...siblings these days."

"Don't avoid my question! What the hell is wrong with you? You didn't show up at the café yesterday like you said you would!" Bullet said.

"Oh, right. No need to be so hurtful..." He drawled. Bullet had a scowl on her face and she shut the bedroom door.

"If you don't answer me then so help me god, I will hang up on you." She hissed.

"Ok, fine. I was just kidding. Anyway, I was there. What are you talking about?" Beyond said.

"No way! I didn't see you there." Bullet objected.

"Hey, I was there! I even talked to you!" He exclaimed. Bullet stopped to think of the people she had talked to in the café. The only one she talked to was L and the waitress. But wait...

"Oh my god. You disguised yourself as the waitress, didn't you?" She said. Bullet mentally slapped herself. Why on earth had she not noticed it before?

"That's correct. Are you impressed?" He said smugly.

"You had the face of a woman. I'm actually kind of impressed. But why didn't you just come talk to us?" She asked.

"Well, he was there." Beyond said petulantly. Bullet could almost envision Beyond pouting like a child.

"Oh? He is a pronoun used as the object of a verb to refer to a person of the male species. So please specify, dear brother." She said with a touch of sarcasm.

"You know who I'm talking about! I saw how he was acting around you earlier and I am pretty sure that he was flirting with you. What were you doing with that bastard?" Beyond said.

"Well, I'm kind of working with him so I have to see him everyday."

"You're working on the Kira case? Kyahahahaha! An assassin working among police officers and detectives! Who would've thought of it? Oh, how I love irony."

"Yes, I do work with police officers and that is a bit ironic. Anyway, I need you to meet me for lunch. We still need to talk." Bullet said.

"Fine. You better not bring L, though. That could end badly." Beyond said.

"Whatever. Meet me at Luca's on Fifth Avenue at noon. And **PLEASE**, for the love of god, show up as a male this time." Bullet said.

"Got it. I'll see you later." He said. The line went dead and Bullet went back to the living room. L looked up and gave her a questioning look.

"Who was that?" He asked.

"Oh, that was a close friend of mine. I think he's someone you need to meet. We're going to lunch with him later." She said.

"Alrighty then." He replied. L went off to go take a shower and she sat in the chair, looking bored. Bullet spotted a file lying under L's computer and eyed it with curiosity. She plucked it out from under his laptop and opened it up. It was Naomi Misora's file. They had declared her supposedly dead. Bullet took a photo and held it up in front of her. Miss Misora had about 823,910 hours left. Bullet took a piece of paper to do some dimensional analysis. She calculated that there were about 8,765 hours in a year. She started to divide the two but remembered one crucial fact.

If she was dead like they said, Bullet wouldn't be able to see her death date.

Duh.

She mentally slapped herself for being an idiot. Honestly, this was not one of her brightest moments. Bullet divided the two anyway and figured that Naomi would live to be 94. She put her pencil down, feeling a bit relieved. Naomi wasn't dead, which was a good thing. Her brother wouldn't be heartbroken.

But, if she wasn't dead then where the hell was she?

Why was she hiding? Bullet wondered if she had found out something about Kira and was investigating on her own. But if she was investigating on her own, why didn't she just come work with them? Naomi was colleagues with L anyway and Bullet knew that her fiancé was one of the agents that died. She would have a perfectly good reason to join the team.

Bullet wondered if she knew the identity of Kira already. It would make sense as to why she didn't join the investigation team. Maybe she found out that Kira was one of them and was finding a way to prove it on her own. This was the most plausible theory, in Bullet's eyes. It would probably be the only one that could actually happen. Her other theory about Naomi getting knocked up just didn't make sense.

Bullet got dressed and they headed down to Luca's. L and Bullet got out of the car and entered the restaurant. He held her by the hand the waiter led them to a table in the back room. L sat in the seat across from her and Bullet drummed her fingers on the table. She looked around and checked her watch expectantly.

"Well, it's noon. He should be here." She said.

"Who should be here?" L asked.

"You'll see. We have to wait. If he doesn't show up, I'll be pissed." Bullet muttered.

They waited for about fifteen minutes and Bullet had a scowl on her face. L wondered who their mysterious visitor was. A waiter came to their table, pushing a cart.

"Your food, Mademoiselle." He said.

"But we haven't ordered anything yet." L said.

"It's on the house." He said. The waiter took off the cover and Bullet let out a squeak of terror. There lay a human hand, lying in a bed of lettuce. It was still bloody and it looked like it was waving at them. L scooted away a little and Bullet clutched his arm.

"What the hell is this?" Bullet exclaimed. The waiter rushed away before they could say anything. There was a note on the palm and L picked it up gingerly.

It said:

_**Wrong order?**_

The waiter walked by again and Bullet grabbed him by the arm. "What kind of sick is this?" She said.

"I'll get the chef." The man said hurriedly. They waited in silence and Bullet stood up to look at the kitchen door. Suddenly, a man in a bloodied apron came rushing out. He was waving a butcher's knife like a madman and Bullet let out a scream. L stood up quickly and held her protectively. He stared at the man in front of him.

It was Beyond Birthday.

"Why, hello there." He said, cheerfully waving his butcher's knife.

"You...! That was so mean! I thought we were going to die! Are you freaking insane?" She exclaimed. Bullet went over to him and smacked him in the arm.

"I haven't seen you that terrified since we were kids." He said, letting out a laugh.

"What the hell was that for?" She said.

"Well, I was trying to think of a fun way to say hello to you." Beyond said.

"We haven't seen each other in two years and that's how you say hello?! God, you are a psycho!" Bullet exclaimed.

"A psycho...what a wonderful way to describe me. Anyway, I thought you said you were coming alone." He said, raising an eyebrow in L's direction.

"Oh, right. I thought you needed to see him. This is Beyond Birthday. This is the man I said we would meet. I didn't expect him to scare the living shit out of us though." She said with a laugh.

"Beyond. Nice to see you again." L said, holding out a hand. He just glared at L and punched him in the jaw. Bullet let out a gasp and pulled her brother off of him.

"Hey! What is the matter with you?" She exclaimed. Beyond got up and dusted himself off.

"That wasn't very nice. Bullet, how did you find him?" L said.

"Oh, I made a phone call." She said smugly.

"So this means that you are indeed related to him...Hmm. I guess I was right." L said, completely ignoring Beyond's theatrics. He rubbed his cheek and turned to look his past successor.

"Tell me, what exactly is she to you?" He said.

"None of your fucking business! What are you doing with her anyway? Get away from her!" He snapped.

"Beyond! Be polite!" Bullet said sharply. He went silent and finally spoke.

"...She's my twin sister. I'm older by ten minutes." He said.

At least faked civility.

Oh, well. It was better than nothing. His voice was laced with venom and he glared at L.

"Does this mean that she has the shinigami eyes as well?" L said.

"That's something she'll have to tell you herself." B replied, mimicking his apathy. L turned to Bullet.

"I'd like to hear the story, Bullet. If you really are his sister, then how did you two escape the Wammy House?" He said.

She gave Beyond a sideways glance. He shrugged but didn't look happy about it at all. Bullet let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair. "Alright, I guess I'll tell you. I trust you enough. But if you tell anyone about what you're gonna hear now, I swear I'll never forgive you." She said.

"My lips are sealed." L said, giving her a small smile. Bullet smiled back at him and Beyond gave them an odd glance.

"Wait a minute, what is the deal with you two?" He said.

"Look, why don't we just sit down and talk this out? I don't think this is the kind of news you want to take standing up." She said. Beyond pulled up a chair next to their table and Bullet sat down and stared at him. There were now two men sitting in odd owl-like positions.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were the twins." Bullet joked. Beyond gave her a dirty look and rolled his eyes.

"Don't compare me to him! Just tell me whatever you were going to say." Beyond said.

"Well...ok, he and I are sort of...oh, how do I put this lightly...?" She said.

"We're dating." L said bluntly while discreetly taking the steak knife in his hand. If Beyond was going to assault him, at least he would be ready this time.

"I can't fucking believe it. Him? Of all people, you had to choose HIM? You're crazy!" Beyond said angrily.

"Hey, I didn't call you crazy when you told me you were in love with Naomi!" Bullet objected.

"This is different! You had to go and fall in love with the man I've hated since I was 10 years old!" He snapped.

"Well, too bad. Love just happens so deal with it." Bullet said childishly, sticking her tongue out. Beyond did not look happy about this at all. L glanced at her and then back at her brother.

"Would you mind telling me how this all happened?" He said.

"Oh, right. Well, Beyond and I are fraternal twins. We were born and raised in Portsmouth, England. Two days before our mother was due to give birth, there was a train accident and she died. And she was just heading to the hospital too..." Bullet said, trailing off.

"If your mother is dead, then how are you alive?" L said. Bullet chose not to tell him about the whole shinigami business.

"Well, they doctors saw that we survived and just cut open our mother and took us out." She said simply.

"That sounds painful." L remarked.

"Yeah, it does...but she was dead already so it didn't really make much of a difference. Anyway, our dad took care of us. He had a...different sort of occupation and basically taught us at an early age. We learned from him until he died when we were ten."

"What kind of job?"

"Damn it L, you're just full of questions, aren't you?" Bullet exclaimed. She smacked him on the arm and glared at him. Bullet folded her arms across her chest, looking like a child all at the same time.

"I'm just saying, what did he do?" He replied.

"He did odd jobs." Beyond said from his chair. He had somehow found a jar of jam and was casually licking it off of his fingers.

"Odd jobs for an odd family...well, that's not surprising." L muttered.

Beyond just glared at him.

"Can I continue or will you interrupt me again?" She said patiently.

"I'm sorry. I'm just curious about you. Please, go on." He said.

"Ok, so we were bounced around from orphanage to orphanage for months. Nobody really liked us and we finally got into the Wammy House ten months after dad died." Bullet said.

"At that place, I guess we did alright. Then Beyond got chosen to be your successor and things started changing. I knew that I was wasting my time there and I would never be like you. So I decided to make an escape plan. I convinced him to go and we left about two weeks after A's death." She said. Bullet chose to leave out the part where she knew that A was alive.

"But how did you vanish without a trace?" He said.

"See, there's no special trick. We just made sure nobody saw us and took extra care to not leave any tracks. The very day my brother and I left was our seventeenth birthday. Ingrid (the housekeeper) was the last person who saw us. I told her that we were going to visit our mother's grave. But as you know, we didn't do that and we left England and went to the States. I went to college and Beyond tried to get into med school. In 2002, they finally figured out that his papers were forged and he got kicked out. Would you like to tell him the rest?" Bullet said, carefully leaving out the parts concerning her special ability. He didn't need to know about those either.

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Keep talking."

"Alrighty then...He was pissed for being expelled so he left to wander around for a while. A while later, he started the L.A.B.B. Murders. The murders served with a double purpose. For one, he wanted revenge on you. There was another reason he did it. See, the other victims were decoys. The one Beyond was really after was Quarter Queen. Or rather, Quarter Queen's mother. She worked as the main secretary for the UCLA School of Medicine. That woman was the one who came across his file and found out it was fake. She presented it to the university's dean and they expelled him." She said.

"That makes sense. What about you?" L replied.

"Me? Well, I didn't want to go far away so I went to UCLA too and I studied in the Music department. I finished school in four years because let's face it, you don't really need much to go into music. It's a good thing that my file was never reviewed, or else I would've ended up like my brother. Anyways, I wanted to go on as a pianist. But nothing ever happened. Nothing worked out for me! Sure, I'd get accepted for things but there would always be complications of some sort. Either life just hates me or I really am a loser. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be." She said, feeling a twinge of defeat.

"Don't say that, Bullet. I think you're a good pianist." Beyond said. Bullet gave him a bright smile, At least that made her day better.

"Now, would you care to remind me again why you called me here?" He said.

"Right, I called you here to see me because we need you to come work on the Kira case." Bullet said.

"And why should I?" Beyond said, raising an arched eyebrow.

"You might know some things about the case that we don't." L stated.

"Hmm, that's true. I might. But why should I would work with you? If I can remember correctly, you were the one who arrested me." Beyond said spitefully.

"I arrested you for something that **YOU** did. What can I say? You did kill three people." L replied. Beyond glared at him because there wasn't much to argue about.

"Look, why don't we just put the past behind us and forget about it?" Bullet finally said.

"I agree. Those shinigami eyes you told me about could be potentially useful. By the way, since you're his sister do you have the eyes too?" L said.

Bullet heard Beyond snort from his side of the table. "You haven't told him? Well, this will be entertaining."

"Shut up!" She exclaimed, chucking a fork that was on the table across the room. Beyond caught it, not even looking fazed. L just gave her a peculiar look.

"Told me what?"

"Well, I didn't tell you that I had the eyes too. That would've been nice to know, wouldn't it?" Bullet confessed.

"That would've been nice. Anyway, are you willing to work with us?" L asked. Beyond just glared at him but looked at his sister. She gave him a meaningful glance and he let out a sigh. Beyond knew that he would end up being dragged into the Kira case somehow, so why not just start working on it now?

"Hmph. I'll work with you. When am I leaving?" Beyond said.

"We leave at one in the morning tomorrow." Bullet said. L gave him directions to the investigation's headquarters and Beyond stood up.

"I'm going to leave now. I guess I will see you two tomorrow." He said. Bullet watched Beyond and L shake hands politely. She let out a sigh of relief. At least they were on civil terms now. She let out a sound of surprise when Beyond pulled her into a corner.

"Bullet, I'm going to warn you now. Be careful with L." He whispered.

"Why?" She asked.

"He might find out about your other job and that will not be pretty. I can assure you." He said.

"I know, I'll be careful. Jeez, you worry too much." She said. He gave her a hug, which was a rare show of emotion from him.

"It was nice seeing you again." Beyond said. Bullet nodded. She watched as he picked up the hand from the steel cart and put it in a Ziploc bag.

"Is that hand real?" L asked.

"Might be, might not be. You see a lot of odd things as a street doctor. For now, adieu." He said as he used the hand to wave them goodbye. Bullet shuddered at the thought of severing someone's limbs. Sure, she was an assassin but that was still pretty gross. L just shook his head and sat down at the table.

"So, are you still up for lunch?" He asked.

"Not really...that severed hand kind of made me lose my appetite. I'm sorry about that, by the way. My brother is...well, he's one of a kind." Bullet said apologetically. He gave her a nod and they made their way out of the café. L and Bullet walked down the street, holding one another's hands. She was swinging his arm forward and backwards and they walked down the sidewalk.

"So, what is Beyond doing now?" L said.

"Well, to be honest I have no clue. I think he told me he was a street doctor. I haven't had much contact with him." She said.

"Bullet, let me ask you something. Were you the one that got him out of prison?" L said, giving her a meaningful glance. They stared at each other for two whole minutes and Bullet finally cracked. What could she do? He was giving her that look of his, the one that never failed to intimidate criminals.

"Ok! Fine! I did it! I'm sorry!" She said, not even daring to look at him.

"I thought so. Now why, pray tell, would you do that?" L asked as they got into the car.

"Well...he's my brother and I know his crime was wrong but...well, I didn't want him to spend the rest of his life in a prison. That's not where he belongs. I told him he was better than spending the rest of his life, plotting his revenge against you. I still don't know why he's so mad at you." She said. L had an unreadable expression on his face. Bullet couldn't tell what he was thinking and they drove along in silence.

God, not even a day and her relationship was failing already.

How sad.

"L, say something. Please." She said softly.

"What am I supposed to say?" He said.

"I don't know. Just say something. You've been quiet for a whole hour now and it's starting to scare me. You're mad at me for getting him out of prison, aren't you?" Bullet confessed. L was quiet and she twirled her hair nervously. They stopped when they got stuck in traffic and he finally turned to her.

"At least we got what we came for." He finally said.

"Yeah, I guess so." She agreed. Bullet looked down and noticed that his hand was on top of hers.

"I don't think we should let this bother us now. I'm willing to let it go." L said, giving her a small smile.

"Really?" She said incredulously.

"Yes. From now on, you shouldn't hide things from me. Alright?" He said. She gave his hand a squeeze and gave him a smile.

"Agreed."

* * *

Aww, Beyond is an overprotective older brother. Isn't that nice? I wish my brother was as awesome as him.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to drop by with a review :)

(V) :,,,; (V)


	10. Chapter 10: A Horrible, No Good Day

I'm sorry guys! This was late by like, two days. School starts next week but we've started practicing for volleyball. Guess who's busy almost every day? Bleh.

Anyway, this is the tenth chapter of the Sins of the Twins! Yay! I don't know why this makes me so happy but it does. I think it's because I've never actually made a story longer than like, 4 chapters. Thanks for getting me 15 reviews! I do enjoy feedback so don't be afraid to drop in an idea or two :)

As always, the SHOUTOUTS! Can't forget about those, can we?

_**SecretlyADemon: YAY! You reviewed about 3 hours after I posted the new chapter and I find that pretty damn impressive. Good job! Haymitch approves! (Hunger Games, anyone?) Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter. Seeing Beyond dressed as a waitress would be bizarre, wouldn't it? **_

_**Asp. Anime: Hello there! I didn't delete your other reviews just because I didn't feel like it but thank you for remembering to review! Beyond's reaction to Naomi's disappearance will be in this chapter, so that's something to look forward to. Anyway, how was your vacation? Mine was actually kind of fun. We tore up the New Jersey's beaches! What did you do? **_

Read and ENJOY!

* * *

**(March 21, 2004- 4 AM) **

Bullet, L, and Beyond made their way to the front of the plane. It had been a grueling 11 hour ride plus time changes. Everyone was exhausted. The plane trip hadn't been that bad but Bullet noticed that her brother was watching L with a wary eye. He probably still didn't approve of their relationship. Bullet didn't really care what he thought. She was free to love whoever she wanted, regardless of the fact that Beyond didn't like him. L was standing in front of her and he shuffled along to the exit. They finally got to the exit and she inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for flying with us. You two are a very cute couple." The flight attendant said.

"We do make a nice couple, don't we?" L said with a smirk. Bullet let out a laugh and agreed with him. She could practically feel Beyond's disdainful stare boring into the back of her head. They left the plane and made their way to the terminal. L and Bullet were holding hands and Beyond hung back, feeling like the awkward third-wheel in this situation.

He saw her tiptoe to give L a kiss on the cheek and fought back the urge to throw up. This was utterly disgusting. Bullet was absolutely smitten with the one man he hated most. How could she love him? Beyond wondered how on earth they ended up together. Personally, he thought L wasn't a charmer at all. What kind of trick did L use to make Beyond's poor younger sister fall in love with him? He wondered if Bullet was stupid or just plain crazy. How could she bear with dating a detective who caught criminals when she, in fact, was a criminal herself? That was a bit masochistic, in his eyes.

To be honest, their relationship confused him.

But somehow, they made it work.

He sighed and followed them into a taxi. Beyond immediately took the front to leave the two "lovebirds" in the back. He was silent on the ride to the hotel, thinking about the things he had found odd about the Kira case. Who was Kira? What kind of person were they? He wondered if Kira was a certified psychotic sociopath or if he was just some random human trying to play God. To be honest, Beyond was mystified by how Kira could kill from anywhere and everywhere. He did have one theory, however, and he figured that Kira needed a name to kill someone. Maybe Kira had the shinigami eyes. Beyond had a feeling that these killings were somehow connected to the mythical shinigami. It would make sense, after all. Maybe he would ask Bullet about it later.

He was the only other person who knew about his sister's special gift. Beyond knew that she had a shinigami inside her, and how much she hated her powers sometimes. He helped her deal with it throughout her life and this was the only time Beyond saw her ability being useful. They could probably stop Kira, if they wanted to.

They arrived at the hotel and for the next fourteen days, Beyond was put to work. He didn't talk much to L, in particular, but he occasionally made small conversation with Watari. He thought Watari was nice, like he usually was. The other detectives often joked about how he and L looked like they were twins themselves. They looked uncannily similar, which pissed him off. Beyond was not going to be compared to him. He hated it. One had to be better than the other, in his world.

"If L's a genius the B's an extreme genius. If L's a freak, then B's an extreme freak. Such is the way of the world." Beyond muttered to himself. The room was empty, save for him and L. Bullet and Watari were off buying them cake and jam and the other detectives were going about their daily business. L looked up from his laptop to stare at him.

"What was that, Beyond?" He said. Beyond mumbled something in reply and went back to reviewing the files. He had come across something interesting a few days ago. Beyond had found a file relating to Naomi Misora. She had been the woman he had fallen in love with during his criminal escapades. The paper had stated her supposedly dead but he knew that wasn't true. Beyond had looked at a photograph of her and it said that she had 823,910 hours to live and she would live to be 94. What on earth could she be possibly doing if she wasn't dead? Why was she in hiding? Beyond had never told her that he loved her, per se, but he wanted to. He sometimes wondered what her reaction would be like. Beyond figured that she would probably just stare at him for a while and possibly laugh at him. The very thought of it was silly, after all.

Beyond let out a sigh and shuffled his papers. Maybe he just wasn't cut out for love. Ah, c'est la vie…

**(To-Oh University- April 5th, 11 AM) **

Today was a very big day at To-Oh University. People were filing into the administration building for the scores of the entrance exams. Students were buzzing with excitement as they eagerly awaited the news that would seal their futures. You could see Tokyo's best and brightest just by looking around the room. The clock at the front of the room struck eleven times and the hopeful students rushed to their seats.

In the second row sat a silent and stoic genius by the name of Light Yagami. He looked disdainfully at the crowd. The young man could hear people whispering about how hard the test was. Personally, he thought it was almost too easy. The answers were already on the page. You just had to look for them.

The man sitting (or rather, crouching) in the seat next to him went by the name of Hideki Ryuuga. Light knew for a fact that this wasn't his real name at all.

He was the famous detective, L.

Not to mention the fact that this was his greatest enemy.

The two had already met and L had probably freaked him out in the process of doing so. L had rushed up behind him and told him his name. The reaction was simply priceless. Light was startled by his statement but the two were now on civil terms. However, L suspected that there was more meets the eye with this kid. There was something different about him. Light seemed too…perfect, in a sense. L was not going to tell Soichiro that he suspected his son of being Kira.

L had no idea that he was sitting next to the greatest serial killer in the world.

It would've been the perfect murder spree, after all. Light Yagami, the bored genius son of Tokyo's top police chief. He would be clever enough to access the police's database. His motives? L didn't know yet but he could probably find out if he wanted to.

But there was only one flaw.

Light Yagami was in Japan.

How could he possibly kill criminals from around the world? It didn't make sense. It was humanly impossible. Beyond had proposed earlier that Kira might have the shinigami eyes, just like he did. To be honest, L didn't believe him at first. But when Bullet showed him that the eyes were real, he began to wonder if Bullet and Beyond had anything to do with the murders. He didn't want to say that he suspected his girlfriend to be Kira…but…

Well, that was exactly what he was saying.

L was never going to tell Bullet this but he felt that there was something odd about her that she wasn't telling him. When he first met her he noted that her eyes held this sort of hungry look in them, like she wanted to do something bad. It was just his personal opinion but he would have to wait and see what she really was.

The dean stepped up onto the stage and tapped the mic several times, causing loud feedback. Several people winced and jeers were heard around the room. The two men listened to his introduction speech about excellence with growing boredom. Finally, it came down to announcing the top two scorers in the whole test.

"This year, one student passed with a perfect score. This record hasn't been made since 1982. I'd like to welcome Light Yagami to the podium. Our second place goes to Hideki Ryuuga, who only missed one out of the whole test." He said.

And of course, L had to get second. He could stick out a little but not too much. But second place still managed to bruise his ego, just by a little bit. L got up and walked with Light. They stood at the stage in silence. The dean beckoned quickly to one of the faculty members standing at the side of the room. They were handed two certificates.

"Now, on behalf of To-Oh University we'd like to congratulate you on a job well done!" He said. L was forced to endure a speech from Light, a speech from the dean, and then **ANOTHER** closing speech. It was terribly boring.

"Thank you, Light. The test scores are posted on the bulletin board outside in the foyer. You are all dismissed." He said. L inwardly let out a sigh of relief. Finally. He left the auditorium with Light, neither one of them speaking. They walked down the grove of trees in silence, to the end of the block. L noted that Light would glance at him from time to time but he ignored this. He figured that Light was still wary of him. L watched a car pull up at the curb and Bullet came out of the car. She waved cheerfully at L. "Hi there. Ready to go?" She said.

"Almost. Bullet, I'd like you to meet Light Yagami. He's one of our new prospects for the investigation team." L said.

"Nice to meet you." She said as she shook his hand politely. "Likewise." Light said. He gave her a charming smile. From next to him, Ryuk decided to express his opinion of her.

"Eh? Light, there's something weird about this chick. I don't see her name or death date floating above her head." The shinigami said. Bullet looked at Light curiously, wondering if she had heard his words correctly.

"Mr. Yagami, did you say something?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Please, call me Light. I didn't say anything besides answering your greeting." Light said. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and L shuffled his feet awkwardly. She knew she had heard something. Bullet looked behind him and knew that L couldn't have said it…the only other explanation was that Light said it.

But there was nothing behind Light.

Just air.

"Hmm. You'll have to excuse me. I get a little paranoid sometimes." She said, letting out a laugh. L could see that she wasn't thoroughly calm yet. There was a steely glint in her eyes but she gave him a smile and turned to L.

"Shall we?" She said. L nodded and she gave him a small smile. Light and L shook hands once more. L didn't know that Light secretly resented him. He didn't know that he was Kira either.

"It was nice meeting you." Bullet said politely.

"It was. I hope we see more of each other." Light replied. From beside him, Ryuk decided to chime in with a comment of his own.

"I wonder why she has red eyes? She must be a freak of nature." Ryuk said. Bullet suddenly turned around, shocked by Light's words.

"Excuse me?" Bullet said, looking offended.

"I didn't say anything." Light said. He stared at her for a second. Had she heard Ryuk?

"Ryuzaki, let's go. Have a good day." She said icily as she turned around to walk away. L followed her and wondered what this was all about. He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. This was getting a little ridiculous. Light didn't say anything weird, as far as he could tell. He got into the car and Bullet sat in the driver's seat. She started the car and had a distant expression on her face.

"Bullet, what was that all about?" L demanded. She turned to him with an unreadable look in her eyes.

"L, be brutally honest with me. Did you hear that kid say something other than responding to me?" Bullet asked as she drove along the streets of Tokyo.

"I didn't hear anything. All he said was likewise, I hope we see more of each other, and I didn't say anything. What's wrong with you?" He said. Bullet didn't answer him and her knuckles were turning white around the steering wheel. Inwardly, she was panicking. Bullet had never been more scared of someone. She sensed that there was something abnormal about Light.

Why?

Bullet hadn't been able to see a death date for Light Yagami. On top of that, she had been hearing strange things around him. What did his words mean? Why couldn't her name or death date be seen? This was troubling to her and she didn't want to tell L about it because she might accidentally reveal her shinigami powers. If he knew about her abilities, he would suspect her of being Kira.

In short, this was bad.

"-ullet, is something wrong?" L said. Bullet snapped out of her trance and stared at him.

"Huh? Oh, no. I'm fine. Don't worry about me." She said, letting out a strained laugh.

"There's something wrong. I can tell." He said firmly, "Now, what is it?"

Bullet let out a heavy sigh. She couldn't talk to L about this. Not now. He wouldn't understand and probably think that she was a freak. Bullet didn't want to tell him and hoped that she would never have to. She was so nervous that she nearly jumped when L grabbed her hand. They were stuck in traffic, which was a perfect time for them to talk.

"Bullet, what's wrong?" He asked. She looked into his dark eyes and let out a sigh.

"It's nothing. I promise." Bullet murmured.

"I'm telling you, something is wrong. You were acting really weird this afternoon. Care to explain why?" L said.

"Well, it's simple. I was just being really paranoid. Nothing to be worried about." She replied.

"Are you sure? I don't quite believe you, Bullet." He stated.

"Everything is fine. I think it's sweet how you're worried about me." She said, giving him her best smile. Bullet was trying to keep him from asking any more about her odd behavior. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, which surprised him.

"That was an unexpected surprise." L said, giving her a small smile.

"What can I say? I like keeping you on your toes." She said. Bullet took a turn and they went down an exit. Her phone rang noisily from her bag and she glanced over at it.

"L, will you be a dear and grab that for me? I don't want to accidentally kill us, so..." She said, trailing off. L took her phone out of her bag and looked at the screen.

"It's a call from a restricted number." He said. L handed the phone to her and she cradled the phone in between her neck and her shoulder.

"Hello?" She said.

"Miss Birthday, this is A." The synthesized voice said.

"Oh, hello. I actually needed to speak to you. Could you and I talk another time?" She said carefully.

"I'm afraid we can't. This is an urgent call. Have you killed him yet?" A said. Bullet had to keep herself from swerving to the side of the road. This was bad.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I don't want to do it anymore. I'm done." She said firmly. There was an awkward silence on the other end.

"Am I talking to the same Bullet Birthday? They have proclaimed you one of the best assassins in the world. You are a cold-hearted killer! You've been able to kill hundreds of people before! What is so special about this man that made you choose not to kill him?" A said angrily.

"You know why I'm done with this whole thing? I fell in love with someone and you are not going to keep me from that! And so help me god, I will do whatever I can to keep that man safe from people like YOU!" She snapped. Bullet caught L's stare and let out a sigh. This was probably the worst time to be talking with A. _**I'll explain later**_, she mouthed. L looked at her with worried eyes and nodded reluctantly. The silence on the other end terrified her. What was A planning to do now? If he was going to try and hurt L, she would fight back no problem. Bullet was willing to pick a fight with A because she had something that she wanted to protect now.

"So you're not going through with this." A replied.

"No, I am not. I'm sorry, but I am backing out of the job." Bullet said icily. There was a pause and A finally spoke.

"Let me tell you something then, Miss Birthday. Don't think even for a second that this is over. I will not stop until that man is dead. You may have fallen in love with the target this time but I am not afraid to take everything you love away from you. I have the power and the means to do so. I may decide to take his life today, tomorrow, or maybe three years from now. You won't know. So, you'd better watch out for both his life and yours. " A said. The other line went dead and Bullet sat there in shock. That hadn't ended well. Not at all.

She set the phone down and tried to calm her heart. L gave her a worried glance and poked her in the shoulder.

"Bullet? Who was that?" He said. She stared ahead with a look of terror on her face, not answering him. L had never seen her more scared in her entire life. Bullet realized that she had done more than just refuse a kill. She had jeopardized not only her life, but L's too. A could maybe go after Beyond too, which was bad. He did say that he would take away everything she loved. Bullet let out a shaky sigh and stopped the car in front of the hotel.

She really fucked shit up now.

* * *

AHAHAHA, SHIT IS GETTING REAL NOW! Again, I am sorry this is late. I hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to drop a review.

And remember, the people who review this chapter get cookies!

(V) ;,,,; (V)


	11. Chapter 11: L's Suspicions

Mother of God.

I'm sorry about this. Really, this is three weeks late. I can't even begin to apologize for this! Now before you kill me, I will explain why this was late. I have been **SLAMMED** by schoolwork. I have so much homework. It's ridiculous.

Which brings me to an important announcement! I will not update weekly anymore because I have gotten to the point where I am much too busy to be updating weekly. On top of that, I want to write well-written chapters that don't feel rushed. One week is too short of a time period to write one good chapter so I will take my time. I'm sorry about this but this is the way it has to be. It's a little embarrassing, really.

**_Anyway, I have A SHOUTOUT!_**

_**SecretlyADemon: Thank god, someone is still reading this! I'm so glad! You are a dear and I love how you review so early. Thanks for the great review and this chapter's for you**__!_

By the way, I would like to congratulate Wisty! She is a fellow writer and she has written an amazing fanfic that's so successful. Her story, **An Ace Up My Sleeve** is nearing the end and I want to say, WELL DONE! You should read her story if you haven't already but it is really good. Congrats, Wisty!

**[insert standard disclaimer...you know the drill...Bullet Birthday and the plot are mine...etc.]**

* * *

**(April 8, 2004- 9 PM)**

Bullet sat quietly in the hotel room. Beyond was out buying jam with Watari and she was alone with L. She drummed her fingers on the desk and tried to act as normal as possible. Bullet shuffled her papers and tried to look for any suspicious activity on the files. After staring at the papers for thirty minutes, she stood up and sighed in frustration. She couldn't focus. There was too much running through her brain. Bullet walked over to the window and stared blankly ahead. L noticed her troubled expression and snuck up behind her. Bullet didn't hear him creeping up behind her and was surprised to feel two arms wrap around her waist. Her first instinct was to grab his arm and twist it behind his back.

"Ouch! Bullet, what was that for?" He said as he let go of her. She whirled around and looked at him with surprised eyes.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry! You scared me!" She exclaimed. L sighed and put his arms around her once more.

"That's alright." He murmured. The two stood there in silence and L finally spoke up.

"Bullet?" L said.

"Hmm...? What is it, L?" She said softly.

"You've been acting odd lately. What's wrong? Are you unhappy?" He said.

"No, I'm fine. There's just a lot to think about, I guess." Bullet replied.

"What's on your mind?" L asked.

She let out a heavy sigh. "Oh, just about everything. One moment I'll be thinking about Kira and the next moment I'll be thinking about something totally different."

"You can tell me. Studies show that it's healthy to vent out your problems." He said matter-of-factly.

"Are you really willing to listen to my problems?" She said with a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Yes, I am. As your boyfriend, that is what I'm supposed to do." He said as he gave her a kiss on the forehead. Bullet couldn't help but smile at his kind gesture.

"Well, that's really sweet of you." She said.

"I suppose it is. Now, what were those problems you were talking about?" L asked.

"Ok, do you remember when I first met Light?" She said.

"Of course. That was about three days ago, wasn't it?" He replied as he led her to the couch.

"Yeah. Well, do you believe in the shinigami eyes?" Bullet asked.

"Hmm...to be honest, I'm still pretty skeptical. You'll have to prove it to me to get me to believe you." He said.

"Really?" Bullet said. She inwardly groaned. Maybe she shouldn't have brought it up. She should've known that L would never believe her. Bullet probably sounded crazy right now. L stood up and logged onto his computer. He printed out a photo and handed it to her.

"If they really do exist then tell me the identity of this man." He said as he handed it to her. She glanced at the photo and gave it back to him.

"This man's name is Joseph Lee Baker." She said almost instantly. L stood there in silence and stared at her.

"How do you know that?"

"I just do. That's his name, right?" She said. L was a bit intrigued now and he went over to his computer.

"Bullet, I want to try something. Please go into the interrogation room." He said.

"Sure, I guess." She said. L pulled up a video screen on the other monitor and it showed Bullet sitting inside the empty white room. There was nothing in there except for two speakers on the wall. L printed out photos of six random people and he went in to hand them to her. He didn't notice a paper fall out of his pocket and left before Bullet could hand it to him.

"Ok, I want you to pick up that first paper and look at it. Tell me what their names are and anything that you know about them. Good luck." This was all L said and then Bullet heard nothing.

"Guess there's no going back now." Bullet muttered. She picked up the first paper and looked at it. It was a burly looking man with a tattoo on the side of his face. He looked like the type of guy you wouldn't want to cross in a dark alley.

"His name is Alistair Thomas Bergstrom. He was born on July 19, 1972 and he has 347,616 hours to live. That means that he'll die on March 15, 2012." She said automatically.

"That's correct." L said through the speaker. Bullet couldn't tell what his reaction was like since his voice was distorted. She hoped that he was at least excited by her ability. Bullet picked up the next paper and looked at it. This time, it was a mug shot of a balding man in an orange prison uniform. For some reason, he was smiling and Bullet wondered if he was crazy. She had a puzzled expression on her face and pulled the photo back.

"L?" She called out.

"Yes?"

"I can't see a name for this one." She said, putting the paper down.

"And why not?" L said.

"This man is dead. I can't see his name so he's dead." Bullet said. There was a slight pause and Bullet was afraid that she had messed things up. L didn't say anything for a while but she finally heard the microphone click back on.

"Well?" She said.

"You're right. This man is dead. I didn't even realize it." He said. She set down the paper and picked up the next one. It was a photo of a smiling woman and her baby.

"The woman is Melissa Marie Sykes and the baby's name is Emma Rosalie Sykes. The woman was born on April 18, 1968 and she has 441,336 hours to live, so she's got until August 23, 2018. The baby was born on April 7, 2003 and she has 569,184 hours left. She'll die on March 12, 2068." Bullet stated.

She moved on to the next photograph. One by one, she identified all the people correctly. Bullet couldn't tell if L was impressed or not but really she wished she could see his reaction. She took the very last photo and held it. The photograph was of a man, a woman, and a little boy. They looked like a happy family. She simply stared at the paper in her hands. L finally noticed that she had gone through all the files and wondered where the extra one had come from.

"Bullet, where did that come from?" He asked.

"I just found it here with the rest of the papers." Bullet said.

"Who's in the photo?" L said.

"The woman's name is Clarissa Annabel Lawliet. The man's name is Sebastian Hale Lawliet. And that adorable little boy in the photo is you." Bullet said with a growing smile. She heard the microphone click off and there was another long pause from the other end. What on earth could he be doing?

"…Can you really see their death dates?"

"Yes. I can see them right now but I won't tell you because that's not something I think you would like to know." She said.

"This…is quite impressive. You can come out now." He said through the speakers. Bullet stood up and stretched her legs. She couldn't help but smile a little. At least he believed her. The only problem was…

He probably thought that she was Kira now.

* * *

L watched as Bullet went out of the interrogation room. He had the silliest little smile on his face and he actually couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. Her gift was real. Before the experiment, he really didn't believe that the shinigami eyes could possibly exist. L hadn't heard about this kind of phenomenon before. Beyond had told him about it before but L didn't believe him either. This was illogical and physically impossible on so many levels but somehow, it was real. As he watched her, he wondered how they got these eyes. Since they both had them, was it an inherited trait?

During his little experiment, L had been unable to look away from her. He watched her in fascination, half-expecting her to struggle throughout the test. But that was not the case at all. She identified the people in the pictures with no trouble at all. Bullet had been able to give their full names, their death dates, and even how many hours of life they had left. That was something that even he found impressive.

When she said the name of the man in the first photo, his mind went blank. He didn't know what to think. L couldn't come up with a possible reason as to why she knew who was on the paper. He debunked it by telling himself that she might have seen the man on the news but it still kindled the spark of excitement inside of him. On the second one, he had held his breath, thinking that she wouldn't get this one right.

But something odd happened with this one that fueled his intrigue.

She hadn't been able to identify this person at all. He had watched her puzzled expression on the screen and wondered what the trouble was. When she told him that the man she was looking at was dead, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could she know the status of someone she had never even met? L had to turn off his microphone for a second to think about what she said. He went on to the police database and looked it up.

The file claimed he was dead.

Just like Bullet said he was.

Things were most definitely getting interesting now. He watched her announce the name and death date of the people on the third page. L watched her in amazement as she correctly identified the strangers with ease in the three other photographs. He had witnessed her pick up the extra card and felt the back of his pocket when she told him that the card was with the rest of the files. L finally noticed that the old photo of his parents had fallen out. It had come in the mail today because Roger had found it in Watari's desk drawer back at the Wammy House and sent it to them. L almost came in there to take the photo but he decided, to hell with it. Why not?

When Bullet said the full name of his mother and father, L actually started laughing. Beyond and Watari had walked in right in the middle of his laughter. They looked at him like he had gone completely insane. Laughing (or even smiling, for that matter) was very rare if it was coming from L. He cleared his throat to control himself but couldn't keep a smile off his face. His mind was racing and he thought of all the things she could possibly do with her gift.

Suddenly, his thoughts took a darker turn. If she knew the name and death date of every person she saw, she had more of a chance of being Kira. The possibility had gone up drastically from 5% to 32% now. If she was Kira, he wondered why she was committing these murders. L concluded that maybe she had secret sociopathic tendencies. However, her abilities to see things unknown to other people was something he thought could be a valuable asset that would aid them in their investigation. Bullet was a slightly put nit, and her mental condition was a little choppy due to her eyes. Nobody could live with those eyes without being a tad bit crazy. But in that sense her emotional state was similar to L's own. She was not good at working in groups and her ability shone brightest when she escaped the ecru-colored walls of organizations and worked on her own. He fully believed that she was something else.

Bullet came out of the interrogation room and he went over to her. She had a hint of pride in her expression and she gave L a smile. "Well? What's your conclusion?" She said.

"That was...well, it was something else. I didn't think that they were real but..." He replied. L stood there in silence, trying to think of what to say to her.

"I disproved that statement, didn't I?"

"As a matter of fact, you did. How exactly does your ability work?" He said as they sat down together on the couch.

"I don't know the exact mechanics of it but I think it goes like this. I can see the name and death date of the person floating above their head. But! That's only if they're alive. I don't see anything if they're already dead. Makes sense, right?" Bullet said.

"Yes. What else is there to know?" L said.

"Let me see...oh! I can't see my own death date. I can only see my name and it's the same when I look at my brother. I can't see anything for him except his name so my theory is that you can't see the death dates of people who have these eyes." Bullet explained.

"Hmm. That's an interesting theory. It's certainly plausible. You're not Kira, are you?" He said casually. Bullet looked at him in surprise.

"What? Of course not!" She exclaimed.

"Are you sure? You know I can't just go on your word alone. That would be biased." L stated.

"So, let me get this straight. You suspect me of being Kira." Bullet said with a glare.

"Well, yes. You're not mad at me, are you?" He replied, looking puzzled. Bullet stared him incredulously.

"How can I not be mad at you?! You just accused me of being Kira! Of course I'm angry!" She said.

"I didn't really accuse you...I mean, you're only a suspect, and...oh, wait..." L stammered. He stuttered out half-formed responses and Bullet just glared at him. She stood up suddenly and started putting on her coat.

"Fine! I just want you to know that I am not Kira even though I have eyes that lets me see the names and death dates of total strangers. God, I should've never even brought it up! I don't know how to just randomly kill people with heart attacks and I am not a murderer." Bullet snapped. From the other end of the room, Beyond suddenly started having a coughing fit.

"_Ahem_...hypocrite..." Beyond said. She glared at him venomously.

"All of you are crazy! Well, maybe not Watari...but whatever!" Bullet said as she put on her shoes.

"Wait, where are you going?" L said.

"You know what? I'm going home and I am gonna get some sleep. So there." She said firmly. Bullet shut the door loudly behind her and L let out a sigh. He mentally slapped himself. Why the hell did he say that? Where was his tact?

"Nice going, genius. You pissed her off." Beyond commented.

"I know. This is bad..." L muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"Of course it's bad. Bullet's not someone you want to piss off. I'm pretty sure she could send you to the emergency room if she wanted to." He said as he licked jam off his fingers. L sat down in his chair and tried to work again to get his mind off of her. He worked for a grand total of ten minutes before shutting his laptop in frustration. L couldn't stop thinking about how mad she was at him! What was he going to do about this? He stood up and started walking around the room. Watari noticed his troubled expression and decided to help him out. He knew about L's deficiencies in the love department.

"You could make it up to her. Tell her you're sorry." Watari suggested.

"But how?" L said.

"Buy her some flowers. Women like those, don't they?" Beyond said from the other side of the room.

"I could do that..." He murmured. L sat back down and decided that he would try to make it up to her tomorrow.

**_(April 9, 2004- 8:27 AM_**)

Bullet sat at her dresser, combing her long black hair. There were dark rings around her eyes and she looked like total shit. She hadn't gotten a good night's sleep at all. Her mind had revolved around L's statement. What was she going to do? Bullet knew for sure that she wasn't Kira. But, she was probably the most likely suspect out of everyone. How was she going to prove her innocence to him?

She stood up and put on a black long-sleeve shirt. After putting on a dark red flared skirt, she tied her hair in a braid with a red ribbon and went into the kitchen. Bullet grabbed her files off the table and put on her shoes. She went to open the door and was surprised to find someone standing there. L was at her doorstep, looking like he was just about to knock on the door. He was holding a bouquet of roses and he shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"Uh..." He stammered.

"Oh. Good morning. What are you doing here?" Bullet asked curiously. She was still a little miffed at their conversation from last night and was wondering what he was doing here. He thrust the flowers into her arms and handed her an envelope. L looked down at the ground and she wondered what this was all about.

"These are for you." He mumbled.

"Well, that's nice. Than-" She began. Bullet was surprised to see him take off running down the hallway. He turned around the corner and she blinked a little.

"Hey! Come back!" She yelled. Bullet set down the flowers on the table and shut the door. She chased after him and ran into the elevator before it could close. All he could do was stare at her.

"Jeez, don't run away from me!" Bullet exclaimed, "What is this all about?"

"Well, um...I wrote it in the card." L said, looking embarrassed. She didn't even realize the thing was still in her hand. Bullet flipped the little envelope open and pulled out a cream-colored square. It said:

_Dear Bullet, _

_I'm sorry for accusing you of being Kira. You're probably still mad at me and that's perfectly understandable._

_(If it's of any consolation to you, I think that you have a low chance of being Kira.)_

_Love,_

_L_

Bullet let out a laugh. All her irritation faded away and she no longer felt angry at him for some reason. Maybe it was because this was such a cute and sweet little card! At least he attempted to apologize. He didn't do it very well but effort counted for something.

"Nice try. But! I am glad that you apologized, so thank you." She said as she gave him a hug.

"Uh...sorry about all of that." He said quietly.

"That's alright. But for the record, I'm not Kira." She stated. They walked out of the elevator, hand in hand. Bullet led them into the street and they walked down Honshu Boulevard.

"I'll be the judge of that." L muttered.

"Well, what's the evidence going against me?" Bullet asked.

"You have the shinigami eyes. That enables you to see someone's name and death date without them even knowing. But, before you get angry, I have a theory." He replied.

"And that theory is?"

"Kira has the shinigami eyes like you. The only difference is that they've somehow advanced that ability and are able to do more with it, which enables them to kill people the world over. Whatever they've done, I don't know. I would appreciate it if you could tell me any information pertaining to this." L said.

"Well, that's a likely theory. But what could Kira have done to advance his abilities?" She mused aloud.

"You don't know?"

"I'm not Kira, dear. Give me a second and I'll think of an answer." Bullet murmured. They walked in silence and a million different thoughts ran through Bullet's mind. What could Kira possibly do that she couldn't?

To be honest, she had no clue.

They entered the doors of the Park Plaza Hotel. L's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and Bullet almost tripped on the threshold of the front entrance.

"Ah, sorry. I was spacing out." She confessed. L led her into the empty elevator and they went to the top floor.

"I could tell. What were you thinking about?" He said.

"Kira. What else?" Bullet said absentmindedly.

"Have you got anything?"

"I'll have to talk with my brother. We might come up with a way to find out more about this. But there's something I need to ask of you." Bullet said.

"And what would that be?" L asked.

"Please...don't tell anyone else about my abilities. It might give them the wrong idea and I really don't want that. Plus, my powers are freaky and different. So please, don't say anything." Bullet said. She had a pleading look in her eyes and there was no way that L could refuse.

"Your secret is safe with me." He said softly. Bullet pouted and crossed her arms.

"I don't know that for sure. Promise me that it is!" She said. L bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"There. Sealed with a kiss." He murmured. Bullet looked a little surprised and she tried to hide the blush on her cheeks. L just let out a small smile and stepped out of the elevator with her. They walked into the room and Beyond was there with Matsuda, Aizawa, Ukita, and Watari.

"Good morning, everyone." She said cheerily. They all mumbled a hello and continued their work. Bullet grabbed Beyond by the arm and led him to the other room. He gave her a quizzical look but did not make any effort to object.

"What is it?" He finally said. Bullet didn't answer and went over to the unused computer in the corner. She logged onto the police database and pulled up Soichiro Yagami's file. From there, she was able to access a file of Light Yagami.

"Be honest with me. Do you see a name or a death date above his head?" Bullet asked. Beyond squinted a little and frowned. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration and he found himself shaking his head.

"I can't say that I do. How...strange." He murmured.

"I met this kid about a week and a half ago but I couldn't see anything for him. It scared me too because I kept hearing these things while I was around him." She said.

"What kinds of things?"

"Well, there was a voice around him but it wasn't speaking in like, first person or anything so it couldn't have belonged to him. It said, '_Light, there's something weird about this chick_' and '_I can't see a name floating above her head_'." Beyond didn't even bother to hide his shock.

"What? Does that mean he has the eyes too?"

"I don't know. I think he does but that wouldn't explain why I was hearing those voices around him. But why doesn't he have red eyes like us?" Bullet said.

"Maybe the eyes don't have a color for people that weren't born with them." He mused.

"That could be true but we have no way of knowing." She protested. Beyond got a devious smirk on his face.

"Oh, we do. Trust me." He replied. Bullet scowled at him.

"What are you talking about? Of course we don't!" She said. Beyond looked around and his eyes narrowed. He suddenly dragged Bullet out the bedroom door and into the living room.

"We need to go downstairs." He announced. The others, busy with their daily tasks, all but ignored the twins. L gave them a dismissive nod and they went down to the elevators. Bullet didn't say anything and wondered what the hell her brother could possibly be doing. They exited the hotel and walked down the sidewalk.

"What was that all about?" Bullet demanded.

"You forget, my naïve little sister, that those rooms are constantly being monitored by Mr. Lawliet. So now, he knows that you hear voices around other people." He said with a smirk. Bullet stared at her brother, open-mouthed. She had nowhere to argue on this one. He was absolutely right.

"...I forgot all about that." She muttered.

"I know you did. But anyway, there is a way for us to find out more about these eyes." Beyond said as they walked on.

"What would that be?" Bullet said.

"Have you done any jobs lately?" He asked.

"Jobs? As in those messy kinds of jobs involving shooting?" Bullet said. She thought that he might be referring to her assassination work but wasn't sure.

"Exactly." She let out a sigh and sat down in a bench with him.

"To be honest, I've been having a tough time lately. The last job I accepted was from A." She said. Beyond seemed mildly surprised by this news.

"Alexander? I thought he disappeared. What was the job?" He replied.

"Well, I was supposed to kill L." She confessed. Beyond's eyes narrowed and he looked at his sister with contempt.

"So, you made L fall in love with you so you could kill him. I may hate him but I don't think that he deserves that. How can you live with yourself? This is sick, even from you." He said with disgust. Bullet immediately regretted her words and held up her hands defensively.

"H-hey! It's not like that! I got into the task force with the intention of finishing the job but I fell in love with him and told A to call the whole thing off. When I said it, A told me that this wasn't over and that he would still try to kill L. I don't know when it'll happen. It might be tomorrow or even today, which is something that really scares me." She said. Beyond gave her a long look and finally just started to laugh. Bullet gave him a dirty look.

"Don't laugh! This is serious!" She exclaimed, punching him in the shoulder.

"Oh, Bullet. This is crazy. You have such a messed up life. I'm sure it's even more screwed up than mine. How the hell do you handle all of this?" He asked.

"I don't know. I really don't. Why did you bring up my job anyway?" She said.

"Well, I distinctly remember you telling me that the night after you kill someone that your little shinigami friend appears. Instead of fighting him, why don't you ask him some questions this time?" Beyond said. They stood up and walked on the sidewalk once more.

"Who would I kill?" She asked.

"Look in your voicemail messages. You must have at least something." He replied. She nodded slowly and began to understand exactly how good his plan was. This could actually work. They entered the hotel and went up to the room. Bullet grabbed her phone from the table and checked her messages. When she was just starting out as an assassin, people recognized her talent and soon gave her the name "**The Black Bullet**". There were about twenty messages left on her phone. She hadn't killed anyone in months! Bullet picked the most recent caller for her little experiment.

"_U-umm...M-my name is Y-Yuki Watanabe. I really need your help. You see, it's my husband. I've seen him fooling around with other women and I want him d-dead. Please...just help me out_!" Click. That was all she needed to hear. Bullet went to the roof of the hotel with her laptop and phone to call the woman back.

"_H-hello_?" The woman said.

"Hello, Miss Watanabe. I believe you contacted me?" She said.

"_Oh, thank you so much...h-how much will this cost me?_" She said.

"It depends on the method." Bullet said as she got into her computer.

"_Well, I don't really care how you do it. I've b-been watching where he goes every night and he usually goes to the Kirika Bar every night down on Fifth Avenue. Please, j-just finish him for me._" She said. Bullet could tell that this woman was as nervous as could be.

"Alright, ma'am. The cost will probably come out to be...781,500 yen." Bullet said. She was trying to be nice and lowered the price a little. This woman sounded like she married a douchebag and Bullet felt kind of bad for her. Infidelity was a terribly petty little thing that no woman should ever go through.

"_That's perfect. How do you want me to give you the cash_?"

"Here's what I want you to do. You need to cooperate with me to make this work. Is your husband gone?"

"_No, he doesn't leave for work until ten. He just got in the shower and probably won't be out for another half hour._"

"Your husband probably takes a briefcase with him when he leaves the house, correct?" Bullet said.

"_Y-yes. How did you know?_" She stammered.

"I figured as much. Now, do you and your husband share a bank account?"

_"No, we have separate ones_."

"Good. Does he have a laptop or a personal computer of any sort?" Bullet said calmly.

_"He has a laptop_." The woman suggested.

"Can you get in?"

"_I think so. I know that he was too lazy to set a password. Why do you ask?_"

"I want you to put on two pairs of latex gloves and take his laptop and withdraw that money from his account. The computer will print out the check and I want you to put that check in his briefcase. Tonight, I want you confront your husband about his infidelity. Make sure that he leaves the house angry and that he leaves with his briefcase. Call me when he leaves. He will go to the bar and then I'll kill him. Are my instructions clear so far?" She said.

"_Yes_."

"Good. Now, when the police interrogate you, I want you to tell them that you had no idea that he would die and that you didn't even know that he was cheating on you. Is that clear?"

"_I think I got it. I printed out the check and put it in his briefcase already._" She said.

"Excellent."

"_Umm, can the police track down this number?_" The woman said hesitantly.

"Nope. It's been scrambled five-fold and I made sure they cannot trace either of us. Anyway, it's been a pleasure doing business with you." Bullet said. The woman said goodbye and Bullet hung up. Her lips curled into a smirk.

This might actually be fun.

* * *

There. 5,600 words just for you guys! I made it extra long to make up for lost time and also because I just wanted to :)

Anyway, you read it so review it! Come drop me some feedback!

-uniquename200

(V) ;,,,; (V)


	12. Chapter 12: The Black Bullet

OH MY GIDDY GOD.

I HAVE MOTHER FREAKING FANART.

ASDFJKJKBLARGGGGGH! DHEKAOHSSUEMSUXPWHRODYWUAP! (keyboard surfin :D)

**The link will be on my profile so you can see!**

Ok, so I got the link in my email last night. This is by a lady on deviantart named **hawks-and-bullets.** This is Bullet's convoluted version of Wonderland apparently and she told me that Bullet is the Red Queen. All I can say? I LOVE IT. I am so happy. Thank you, hawks-and-bullets!

Ok! Now, back to the chapter! I have been super busy studying for the SAT's and I'm glad I got this posted. It's been hard lately and I've honestly been busy and fanfiction kind of slipped my mind. Anyway, I would like to voice a thank you to **SecretlyADemon** for reviewing and also to any of my other readers! I miss you guys so come drop a review.

Hope you like it :)

**[insert standard disclaimer...you know the drill...Bullet Birthday and the plot are mine...blahblahblahkittens...]**

* * *

**(April 10, 2004- 10:22 PM)**

Bullet walked out of the Park Plaza hotel and down 41st Avenue. Work had gone good today and nobody had even suspected that something was up. Except her brother, of course. He simply winked at her as she had walked by to go home and told her, "_Good luck_". The rest of her co-workers had looked at the two quizzically but she just rolled her eyes and walked on. Beyond wasn't going to rat her out. Why would he?

Before she left the house, Bullet had pulled up the files of her target. She had also used some free time this morning to sew a patch on her dress which held a tiny transmitter chip inside. If she pressed the little button on the side, it would knock out any electronic devices within a 200 ft radius. This would allow her to get into the bar without being seen by the security cameras and would also prevent anyone from calling the police. She went to the bar that morning to inspect the site. Bullet had gone to the bar at about six in the morning, when she knew that no one was around. They had a standard lock which she broke into easily with her credit card. She hid a backpack under the bed in room 428 upstairs, which held a change of clothes and a gun.

The raven haired woman entered her bright apartment building and she took out her keys. She walked into the dark apartment and got ready for her job. Bullet went to her closet to look for her outfit. After ten minutes, she finally found a saucy black dress with straps that criss-crossed in the back. She tied her hair into a loose bun and put on blood red lipstick. Bullet popped in a pair of a pair of green colored contacts, which contrasted with her eyes and made them a dark shade of brown.

She went to the kitchen after dressing and sat down on a stool. Bullet pulled a small box out of the drawer and took out the contents. Inside was a bottle of top coat, which contained ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, nitrocellulose, and other chemicals. She carefully applied five coats to each fingertip to prevent herself from leaving behind any fingerprints. Bullet didn't like to wear gloves because they had a tendency to make things slip out of her hands. The top coat on her fingertips felt very stiff so she knew that they were completely dry.

About ten minutes after the nail polish dried, she heard her cellphone ringing and she went to go answer it. Bullet picked it up and unlocked her phone. She typed in a code, which would disguise her voice. "Hello?" She said.

"_Uh...hi, this is Miss Watanabe. My husband just left the house about two seconds ago and he's on his way. I threw his briefcase at him so we should be good to go._" The timid woman said.

"_Excellent. I'll be there as soon as possible. Thank you for your business and cooperation, Miss Watanabe._" Bullet said politely. She hung up and buckled the straps on her shoes. Bullet blew her fingers for the last time and began to mutter something that she always said before she left for a kill.

_And Shepherds we shall be_

_For thee, my Lord, for thee._

_Power hath descended forth from Thy hand_

_Our feet may swiftly carry out Thy commands._

_So we shall flow a river forth to Thee_

_And teeming with souls shall it ever be._

_In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti._

It was from a movie that she had seen a couple years ago. It was about two brothers who were assassins with questionable morals, just like her. Bullet loved it and she always found that missions somehow went a little bit smoother when she said it. It seemed like a silly superstition but it gave her some peace of mind.

She made sure everything was off and opened a drawer near the door. Bullet wiped the slim card with a napkin and put it in one of her pockets. It was a brand new hotel key she had stolen from a band of roving tourists this morning. Bullet was going to use this to break into the side door, which would keep her from going through the front door. If she went through the front door, that might leave some unwanted witnesses. She took out a silver skeleton key, which was the master key to the hotel's rooms above the bar. Bullet had found it this morning while she was snooping around this morning.

She walked down to the Kirika Bar, which was near the docks. The hotel itself was a floor above the bar and it overlooked Tokyo Bay. It was about 10 minutes from her house by train and she entered the bar from the side entrance. After the door was open, she tossed the key card into the dumpster. The dark room was full of flashing lights and gyrating bodies. Bullet avoided numerous people and went straight for a bar stool. She gave the bartender a dazzling smile, who handed her a martini glass.

"This one's on the house, for a pretty lady like you." He said flirtatiously. Bullet just giggled and thanked him. She scanned the room and locked eyes with her target. Kiseki Watanabe was relatively handsome for a 27 year old man. He had black hair and shining brown eyes. Judging from the amount of women flocking towards him, he was probably charming as well. Bullet planned to seduce him and take him to a room upstairs, which had the best escape route since it was nearest to the roof. After she killed him, she would slip away unnoticed and that would be that.

Bullet gave Kiseki a few flirty glances and looked bashfully at the ground. He was sitting on the couches with four other women and he motioned for her to come sit with him. _Me_, Bullet mouthed. He nodded and she gave him her most charming smile. Bullet sat down next to him and waved at him.

"Hi. Did you need something?" She asked.

"I couldn't help but notice how beautiful you were." He slurred. She could practically smell the alcohol on his breath. Oh, boy. The other women became offended when he waved them away with a hand. Bullet ignored her inner judgments and let out a coy giggle.

"Oh, thanks. That's so sweet of you." She said.

"My name's Kiseki Watanabe. I'm an executive for the Yotsuba Corporation, but you know that's nothing." He boasted. Bullet tried not to roll her eyes. What an arrogant bastard.

"No way. I don't believe you." She said. He raised an eyebrow and pulled out his briefcase. Kiseki opened it and showed her its contents.

"See? They're my work papers." He slurred proudly. My God, what an idiot! Bullet picked up a piece of paper and saw that it was the check for her kill. She set it back down and discreetly folded it inside the briefcase. The paper was in a tiny square and she held it in the palm of her hand. He didn't even notice that she had taken anything. Kiseki was busy gulping down a beer and she took that chance to reach down and slip the paper underneath her toe.

"Well that's great! I believe you now." She gushed. He returned his attention to her and set the bottle down. Kiseki put an arm around her and pulled her close. She could feel his alcohol-laced breath on her skin.

"Hey baby, this place is crowded. Why don't we take this conversation somewhere more private?" He whispered. Bullet had to physically keep herself from punching him in the face. What a sleaze! But she knew that she had to go along with the act so she dealt with it.

"I've got a room upstairs. We can finish the rest of our little talk up there." She said softly. He smirked and stood up.

"Alright. Let's go." Kiseki said. They headed out of the bar and towards the elevator. When they got in, he pinned her to a wall and began kissing her roughly. Bullet had to hold back her fury and was forced to make out with him. He tasted like cigarettes and alcohol, which was not a very pleasant taste. Bullet greatly preferred her boyfriend's taste of coffee and strawberries. She prayed to God that the elevator would get to their floor soon and was relieved to hear the doors open. Bullet led them to room 428 and she opened the door with her key. When they got inside, Kiseki tried to kiss her but Bullet grabbed the end of his tie and pulled it down roughly. He hit his head on the ground and groaned.

Bullet gave him a smirk. "Sorry babe, I don't play like that." She murmured. Bullet brought him to his knees and tied his hands behind his back with his tie. She walked in front of him and traced her finger on his face seductively.

"You're a bad man, Kiseki Watanabe." She said softly. It seemed that he finally figured out that she was no ordinary woman and Bullet could tell he was scared now.

"Who the hell are you really? W-what are you going to do to me?." He stuttered.

"If only you hadn't cheated on Yuki. She seems like a sweet lady, you know." Bullet said.

"Yuki? What does she have to do with this?" Kiseki exclaimed. Bullet laughed mirthlessly and ruffled his hair like he was a little kid.

"Oh, you really are an idiot. If only you hadn't talked to me. Maybe that could've saved you." Bullet said mockingly. She stood behind him and cupped his chin with her hand and put her other hand on the top of his head.

"Wait, what are you...No, STOP! PLEA-" He yelled. She whispered him a goodbye and ignored his plea. Bullet pushed down as hard as she could and twisted his head in a complete circle. There was the sickening sound of his skull being dismembered from his spinal cord. He choked and fell to the floor. She dusted off her hands and dragged him to the side so he was covered by the bed. Bullet took his head and threw it as hard as she could. It splashed in the water and disappeared beneath the waves. It was done.

Bullet began to change into her other outfit. It was a fitting black jacket and she paired it with black pants and lightweight sneakers. She took out the gun and put it in its holster, which was strapped to her thigh. Bullet took the check and put it in a zippered pocket in her jacket. She quickly took out the skeleton key and pricked at the seams of her dress. The transmitter chip came out and she put both items inside her pocket as well. Bullet didn't notice that the chip had slipped out of her pocket and onto the floor. She put her dress and her heels into the backpack. Bullet was surprised to hear a pound on the door. She could hear a woman yelling on the other side and assumed that it was either housekeeping or the manager. Bullet put on a black ski mask and threw the window open. The mask was terribly cliché but she had to keep it on or else she would be recognized.

She hid behind the door and could hear something pounding loudly against it Bullet could faintly hear someone else talking rapidly in Japanese. The person was complaining about the screams she had heard coming from here. The door suddenly opened with a bang and two ladies rushed in, thinking that she had jumped out the window. She snuck out and heard them piercing screams from behind her. They must have found the body on the other side of the bed.

Bullet ran to the end of the hallway and took a turn. She passed by a screaming housekeeper and Bullet silently cursed her luck. She had a witness now. There was no way she could kill the woman now, so she continued to make a run for the stairs. Bullet heard the elevator doors open from behind her and two police men dashed out. When did they get here? She continued to run and felt her pocket. Her heart nearly stopped when she felt nothing in the other coat pocket.

The skeleton key and the chip were gone.

Bullet ran up the stairs and dodged a bullet that ricocheted off the stair rails. Going downstairs was obviously not an option since there were so many people down there. She made it to the roof and tried to find a way to escape. She heard a pair of footsteps behind her and the safety of the gun clicked off. Bullet circled around her attackers warily and dodged a bullet aimed at her side. She fired a shot that knocked the gun out of one of the officer's hands and shattered a glass skylight. This distracted the other man and she fired a shot at his chest. The man let out a yell and was knocked down. Bullet could hear more people coming and she cursed. This wasn't going as well as she thought it would've.

She focused on her current assailant and hit the ground with both hands, pushing down to power her legs upward. Bullet twisted, which turned her body upside down and sent her foot to hit the assailant's chin. He let out a cry of pain as her feet collided with his face. The force of her kick sent him flying and she heard him scream as he fell from the roof and into the dark water below. She shook it off and bounded upward, landing with her legs slightly apart and her right hand in front of her face. Her center of gravity was low and she faced her other attackers, swaying slightly and ready to fight.

There were three other men that tried to shoot at her but she did a sort of back cartwheel in the narrow space. She could see a news helicopter hovering above her and wondered how the hell they could have gotten here so quickly. Then she realized...

Had she been set up?

It dawned on Bullet that maybe, just maybe, she had been double crossed. Bullet had inspected the files of her client this morning but had found nothing suspicious. She hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary in both files. Whoever had planned this sting was good. Damn it, how could she have been so stupid? Bullet figured that it was too late to turn back now so she continued to fight. Bullet grabbed one man by the wrist and forced the gun out of his hand. She took it shot the other man in the chest without hesitation. She kicked her current attacker in the chest and he went flying. The man fell off the roof but she heard a scream and a dull thump. This one hadn't hit the water. Bullet spied a can of mace in one man's pocket and grabbed it. She shot it without looking at another man rushing towards her. She shot the third man and the rest of the police officers that came running through. If she was going to be recognized by the police, she might as well show them that her shooting skills were a force to be reckoned with.

Bullet didn't see any more people coming so she went to the south end of the roof and found a window washer's platform. She jumped on and the piece of metal was lowered by about eight feet or so. Bullet saw another man jump down from the roof and onto the metal platform. It was swaying at dangerous angles and she blocked a punch from the man and kicked him in the face. He let out a cry of pain and stumbled back. Bullet used the platform's momentum to her advantage and grabbed the bar on the side. She kicked the man in the face and he passed out and fell into the water down below. She heard a crash from behind her and suddenly felt an arm wrap around her neck. Her attacker tried to pull off her mask but she bit him in the arm and elbowed them in the gut. Bullet pushed her feet off the platform and knocked the guy to the ground. She felt a gun pressing into her waist and she flipped herself over and took it from him. The platform swayed once more and pushed the unconscious man into the water, about 16 feet below.

Bullet shot the man at point blank range and he fell into the water as well. She looked up to see more men at the roof. Bullet turned to the news chopper above her and gave them a cheeky wave and a somewhat mocking air kiss. If she was going to be noticed by the public, she might as well be known as a femme fatale. While she was doing this, she shot the two locks that were holding the platform's chains in place. The metal groaned and gave way. She quickly felt herself falling in the air. Bullet dove into the water and swam down. She swam down as far as she could and then took a turn to the left. Bullet poked a head out of the water when she was close to running out of air and saw that the shore was about 10 feet away. She had swum quite a ways from the bar. Bullet looked back and spotted the hotel and bar about 200 feet away. The bay was ablaze with light from the police and news chopper and she rose out of the water. The woman shook herself off and headed into the little park. Bullet was shaded by the trees and she made sure that she had everything with her. The only things that she was missing were the chip and the key. Bullet pulled the soggy check out of her pocket and tore it disgustedly. She didn't want this check anymore. Bullet absolutely hated being set up.

She took off her coat and put on her somewhat dry dress. Bullet put her mask, jacket, pants, and gun into the backpack and left her sneakers on. If she was walking home, she wouldn't be going there in heels. She inspected the damage and saw several bruises on her legs, but no cuts. Bullet tied her hair up in a pony tail and headed home. It was a thirty minute walk back to the house and she didn't want to risk it and do anything else that might put her in jeopardy. She stopped by a public bathroom and threw her contacts away. Bullet arrived at her apartment building just five minutes before midnight. The receptionist gave her a smile.

"You've been out on the town tonight, haven't you Miss Hawthorne?" She said.

"You have no idea." Bullet said. She went to the elevators and entered her apartment again. Bullet pulled a house key out of the dress's pocket and went straight to the bathroom. The first thing on her agenda was a bath. Bullet went into her bathroom and came out about fifteen minutes later. She found several bruises on her arms and legs and tried to come up with some sort of explanation for her injuries. Bullet decided that her boyfriend didn't have to know about them and crawled into her bed.

He didn't have to know about anything that happened tonight.

She waited patiently for her shinigami friend to appear but after an hour, she figured that he wasn't going to show himself. Bullet let out a sigh and buried her head under the covers. Maybe tomorrow...

**(April 11, 2004- 8 AM)**

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Bullet let out a groan and rolled out of bed in a mass of comforters and pillows. She pounded the snooze button with a fist and sat up. Sunlight streamed in through the window and she held up a hand to shield her eyes. Bullet rolled her head back and looked at the clock. It was time to get up.

She padded to the kitchen and made herself a cup of hot coffee. The sweet aroma filled her nostrils and pulled her out of her sleepy state. Bullet put on a black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. That would hide her injuries.

Bullet left the house at about 8:30 and walked to Toyosu Station. It was about a 35 minute ride to work and she arrived at around 9:05. Bullet walked into the hotel room and was a little surprised to find L, Beyond, and Watari sitting around a table.

"Good morning. Did I miss something?" She asked as she sat down next to L on the couch. He looked distracted and he brought up something on the monitors.

"Take a look at this." He said. It was the news report from last night. There was a dark haired anchorwoman on the news and Bullet watched intently while wondering why he looked so distressed.

"_-ere's the live coverage from our news copter_." She said. The screen turned black and switched to a shot of a person fighting on a window washer's platform. Bullet held her breath and just stared at the screen. That was her. Bullet watched herself give the camera a wave and an air kiss and then the platform broke. She went tumbling into the water and disappeared from view.

"_This is your reporter on the field, Daisuke Inoue! The suspect of the crime has just disappeared into the waters of the Tokyo Bay_!" Another man shouted. L paused the video and watched Bullet's reaction carefully.

"Who is that?" She said.

"That's the problem. None of us know." He replied.

"Maybe you can tell us something about this, Bullet." Beyond said. She ignored his snide comment and looked closely at the clip.

"Well, just by looking at the figure you can tell that it's a woman. I don't think there's a man on this planet that can move around that gracefully." Bullet said.

"Anything else, Miss Birthday?" Watari asked. Bullet's brows furrowed and she shook her head.

"I was watching this on the news last night and I couldn't figure out anything else. Did you guys plan this?" She said.

"Correction, my dear sister. L planned it. Kiseki Watanabe was a proxy. He was actually Ryuu Matsumoto, a convicted serial killer." Beyond said. She looked at them for a little while and tried to find something to say. Beyond knew that there was a sting and he didn't tell her?

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" Bullet demanded.

"It was just something that I've been working on, alongside with our other case. I don't think Beyond found out until yesterday." L said.

"Well, I'm part of the team too. You guys should at least tell me stuff." She said with a pout. L muttered out an apology and Beyond rolled his eyes. The man was most definitely whipped.

"Are you guys gonna catch this criminal?" Bullet asked.

"Maybe. It might take a little time but we sent the body of the dead man to the forensics lab. The head has gone missing and we have been unable to recover it. It's probably at the bottom of Tokyo Bay by now. Even if we were able to get the head back, the water would have washed out all the DNA so a cheek swab would basically be useless. There are no fingerprints on the body, which is a little strange. They did tell me that they found traces of butyl acetate, nitrocellulose, and ethyl acetate. The killer probably is a woman, because those are the ingredients found in nail polish." L said.

"Really?" Bullet said.

"Yes. This killer is a lot more clever than I thought. The fact that they took this as a hit proves that we're not dealing with any ordinary killer. They've obviously done this before and I think we're dealing with a highly dangerous hitman." He said.

"L, do you think that this could be..." Watari began.

"It could be." L murmured.

"Could be what?" Beyond asked, looking up from the files. L pulled up the video on the monitor and pointed at the criminal.

"Watch how she fights. She has the grace and agility of a skilled killer. They look like they've been doing this for a long time. There is a 72% chance that we aren't dealing with some crackpot hitman. We could be dealing with the Black Bullet. If this case does deal with the famed Black Bullet then I need to keep investigating this." L said gravely. Bullet's mouth formed into a little O.

"Good luck with that, I guess." She said as she took her files out of her bag. As she cross examined all the suspects in the other case, Bullet thought about L's newest case. He was investigating her, which could be bad. She had to be careful now, or else he could catch her. Bullet decided that maybe she could lay low for a while so she wouldn't get caught by the police. Yeah, that would be best.

She continued to work for another hour but noticed something odd. There was a shadow on the wall and it kept morphing into different shapes. Bullet looked around but it didn't seem to be coming from anything in the room. She fought back her feeling of unease and kept reviewing the suspects for the other case. The shadow turned into a humanoid figure and it came off the walls and started coming towards her. No one else seemed to notice it so she ignored it and kept writing.

Bullet looked up hesitantly and saw a pair of jagged teeth. She looked up into the shadow figure's blood red eyes and she let out a scream and fell out of her chair. Everyone immediately turned to stare at her but no one saw the shadow figure.

"Bullet, are you all right?" L said quizzically. She let out a nervous laugh and sat back down.

"Yeah, I think so. I thought I saw a spider. Nothing to worry about." Bullet said. Her heart thumping out a million beats per minute and she felt the blood pounding in her ears. Of all the times her stupid shinigami could appear, why now? She quickly excused herself and caught her brother's stare. Bullet all but ran out of the room and went up to the roof of the hotel. She couldn't talk to the shadow figure in the rooms because L monitored every single one. She sat up there and looked back. Her shinigami had followed her and was grinning at her with his sharp teeth.

"That was mean of you to scare me like that." Bullet said. She tried to mask the fear in her voice with a tone of contempt.

"I suppose it was. I heard you almost got caught last night. You're not as sharp as you used to be, Black Bullet." He said mockingly.

"I only took that job last night because I needed something from you." She said defiantly.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"I want answers. You always seem to appear whenever I kill someone, so I figured that if I took the job then I could summon you." Bullet stated. The shadow being laughed and Bullet was a little surprised to hear it do something like that.

"You don't have to summon me by killing another human. I can appear whenever I wish." He said.

"Why do you appear whenever I kill someone? Are you purposely trying to drive me insane?" Bullet snapped.

"Possibly. If you were insane, I could take over your whole body and do whatever I wanted."

"I don't like the sound of that. Anyway, I have another question. Are you tied to me for life? Do I have to deal with this curse for the rest of my life?" She said.

"I might be. I think there is a way to break your so-called curse. When I took over your body when you were a newborn, you accepted my existence and I accepted you. To break this bond, you need to reject me. I've tried to reject your body many times but I've concluded that you have to do the same for it to work." He said. Bullet let out a sigh.

"Huh...this is going to be harder than I thought. By the way, you never told me your name." She said.

"My name is Noir. I am the past ruler of the shinigami world." He said.

"Well then, it's nice to meet you Noir." Bullet said.

"Hmm. Now that we've exchanged pleasantries, I suppose you want me to tell you everything."

"That would be correct." Bullet replied. The shinigami laughed once more and gave her that same eerie grin.

"I like you. You have tenacity. I knew I made the right choice when I chose you." He said.

"Well, thank you. Now, could you please tell me everything?" She asked.

"I suppose. You have the eyes, which enable you to see people's dates. I see you've also figured out your shadow abilities. You can manipulate shadows and teleport with them. Is this all sounding familiar?" Noir said. She nodded and he continued to tell his story.

"In my world, shinigami are formed from those blasted notebooks. I was not made from a notebook but created by God himself. I ruled as king over a lackluster version of hell. That was all until I saw your mother. She was a beautiful woman who was always happy. I watched over her and admired her from a distance. When she died, I acted on impulse and saved both of you." He said.

"Huh...well, have you heard of Kira?" Bullet asked. Noir looked disgusted.

"Don't remind me. I've heard more than enough about that idiot." He replied.

"Could you tell me more about you?" She said.

"Alright, I suppose I can. I have special powers that allow me to fight. You can use those shadow abilities in a fight too. There is one power that I can choose release in a mortis examine."

"Mortis examine? What's that?" Bullet said.

"It's a trial of death, or as you humans call it, a death match My final power is called the Umbra Falx. It involves me possessing your body and taking out my weapon, the Shadow Scythe." He explained.

"What about the others?"

"As you know, they are formed by the books. There are several rules that those books hav-" Noir began.

"Wait! They're formed from notebooks? What are you talking about?" Bullet said. His lips curled into a smile.

"You are a highly inquisitive child. I guess you don't know about them. Well, they are called the Death Notes. This is how that idiot can kill people from a distance. There are several rules to each. If a human picks it up, they can see the shinigami that comes with the notebook. When you write the name of the person in that notebook, they'll die. You will also be turned into a shinigami if you write in it. The writer has to imagine the person's face in their mind when they write the name so that people who share the same name are not affected. Also, if you don't specify the cause of death, the person will just die of a heart attack. You have to write the details of that death in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds." Noir explained. Her lips curved into a smirk. Bullet had her info now. She knew now how he could kill people from across the world.

"I see...are there any other rules?" Bullet said.

"I don't think so. There are rumors that if the owner of the notebook doesn't write anything within 13 days of the last name, they'll die. There's another myth that if the notebook is burnt, destroyed, or damaged in any way, all those who have touched it will die. Both are not true. I've tested it." He explained.

"Hmm. Noir, I have a deal for you." She said.

"Go ahead. I'm stuck with you so I really don't have a choice."

"Alright then...you hate Kira as much as I do, right?" Bullet said.

"I do."

"Ok. Here's what I'll propose. I'll find a way to get rid of Kira and his shinigami. However, to catch him I need you to tell me everything about them. In the slim chance that we end up facing off with his friend then you have to help me fight him." She said.

"Why would you need my help? You're combat trained. You know how to fight." Noir argued.

"I don't think this will be any ordinary fight. We could be fighting against one of you. My plan is to try and kill his shinigami, if such a thing is even possible. How do you kill death itself?" Bullet replied.

"There are ways...but I don't think I'm going to tell you how to do that at this point. I might drop a few hints every now and then." He said. Bullet rolled her eyes and continued talking.

"Whatever. If you help me with all of this, I'll let you go. I will reject you from my body and you can go do whatever it is that you're supposed to do. Deal?" She said.

"Alright, it's a deal." He said. The two shook hands and Bullet slowly began to plot Kira's downfall.

And the game begins.

* * *

Ok, that's it for this chapter! And if you're wondering, putting tons of nail polish top coat on your fingers does prevent you from leaving fingerprints. Trust me, I tried. It really works. I was surprised.

AND BY THE WAY...I might be able to pump out a Halloween special so watch out for that too!

Anyways, don't forget to leave a review!

-uniquename200

(V) ;,,,; (V)


	13. Chapter 13: A Halloween Murder Mystery

My first Halloween special! First off, this chapter is totally AU. It doesn't really fit in with the timeline of the story so please don't take it seriously! It's just something I decided to write for fun. I put Naomi Misora in here just because I wanted to. Don't worry, she has significance to the story!

Anyway, the pairings still go with the story. LxBullet and with hinted BeyondxNaomi and all that :)

This chapter's for L because it's his birthday today! Isn't that ironic?

So, HAPPY HALLOWEEN BITCHES!

Oh and before I forget, THANKS FOR ALL THE NEW REVIEWS! We're almost to twenty, everyone!

** [I don't own Death Note...just Bullet Birthday and this story plot...but you know that already, don't you?]**

* * *

**(October 31st- 10:15 AM)**

L sat quietly in the hotel room and worked on a case that had just opened up last night. Watari was down at the police station, grabbing a file. The sun was shining brightly outside and it was a relatively peaceful morning. Beyond was working quietly at his computer and Naomi was still asleep. She had come by to visit a few days ago and Beyond had been somewhat excited to see her. While she was here, L might find some use for her and put her to work.

The other detectives were at the police station for a leadership conference and it was kind of a slow day. L was investigating a string of murders and the disappearance of a well known army general.

He wondered where Bullet was. His girlfriend was uncharacteristically late to work today. Usually, she came by at around eight but she was late by two hours today. He was a little bit worried about her but figured that she had just overslept.

Naomi finally got out of bed to join them and she sat down next to Beyond. "Good morning. You look well rested." He joked. Naomi rolled her eyes and sipped at her coffee.

"Oh, shut up. I'm not one for mornings." She mumbled. Jet lag was a killer. Naomi was still totally tired. She set her coffee cup down and glanced over at his computer.

Beyond chuckled. "You are just a ray of sunshine, aren't you Naomi?" He muttered. She punched him in the arm playfully but laid her head down on his shoulder. It was hard to believe that this was the same serial killer that had killed three people. Somehow, he wasn't psychotic or completely bat shit insane. Naomi didn't think he was all that bad now. In fact, they were pretty good friends now. He would flirt with her sometimes but in odd ways. Nonetheless, Naomi appreciated it. She suspected that he had interest in her but was too embarrassed to bring it up.

She fell asleep on Beyond's shoulder but he made no effort to push her off. L was giving Beyond a meaningful stare. He saw him wiggle his eyebrows and Beyond rolled his eyes. L thought that it was nice that Beyond had taken interest in a woman and proved that he was capable of love.

The front door suddenly opened with a bang. Everyone jumped up and turned to stare. Bullet came in, holding a white box. Her hair was windblown and her cheeks were pink with color. She walked in and set the box down on the table.

"Morning, everyone!" She said.

"Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you were." L said. Her face lit up when she saw him and she gave him a bright smile.

"Happy birthday, L!" Bullet said, giving him a hug.

"My birthday? Is it really...?" He said thoughtfully. Bullet stared at him disbelievingly.

"It's October 31. It's your birthday. Did you really forget your own date of birth?" She said.

"It might have slipped my mind. I don't really hold my birthday in high regard." L said with a shrug.

"Well, this is for you!" She said as she handed him the box and he raised an eyebrow.

"What's this?" He said questioningly.

"I made it myself. It took me a while to get it right though. That's why I was late this morning." She said proudly. He flipped open the lid and looked inside.

It was a cake.

It was a strawberries and cream confection with chocolate sauce drizzled on the top. She had cut fondant that said, **HAPPY BIRTHDAY, L**! on the cake. It looked pretty good and brought a smile on L's face.

"It looks delicious, Bullet. Thank you." He said as he put an arm around her waist. L gave her a kiss on the cheek and she gave him a smile. Beyond cleared his throat awkwardly and gave Bullet a meaningful stare.

"Oh, shut up Beyond. We all know that you would get all lovey-dovey with Naomi if you guys were together." Bullet said. Naomi sat up at the sound of her name and looked around.

"Huh? What about me?" She said.

"Nothing. You can just go back to sleep now." Beyond said quickly.

"But I'm not sleepy anymore..."

"Fine then. You can just sit and watch, I guess." He said.

"You know I hate sitting and waiting." Naomi said. He shrugged and handed her the files of some potential suspects. Naomi gladly took her work and sat quietly. Beyond shot a glare at his younger sister and she laughed evilly. Bullet took her place beside L and peeked over at his computer.

"What do I get to do today?" She asked.

"We have a very unusual string of murders to investigate. They're all very ritualistic types of murders. They all started last Sunday and have been going ever since." L said. He handed her a folder and she looked over it.

The first file was on a man found in a hotel near the docks. Bullet smirked at the page because she had been there before. She had committed a murder there once. It seemed ordinary from first glance but the strange thing was the markings on the floor. It was an odd looking circle with small text on it. The letters said, _Superciliousness shall go before destruction_.

The next was of a teenage girl found in the Red Light district in Shinjuku. She had been found in a room with knife in her chest. Her entire body was covered in blood and the room was a gory mess. The hotel manager had noticed that no one had come out for a long time and came to tell them that their time was up. Instead, she found a pair of dead eyes staring back at her. There was a circle beside the bed that said, _She is imperfect white stained with red_.

The third was a little sick. A woman was found at an abandoned house near the edge of Tokyo, near Nippori station. The body was dumped into a bathtub full of bleach. The flesh was halfway decomposed and it looked rotten. The autopsy from her remaining organs showed that she had been drugged before the time of death. The circle this time said, _A heart at peace gives life to the body, but one that covets rots the bones_.

The next body was found in the basement of an obese man found in the basement of a food manufacturer factory in Ebisu. He was strapped to the floor and all the rejected food came off the conveyor belt and it was piled on top of him, causing him to suffocate. The night guard came by a few hours later to turn it off, thinking that someone had left it on by accident. He saw the man's leg sticking out and that's how they found him. The circle underneath him said, _For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. _

The fifth body was found at a warehouse 4 miles from Koto. The cause of death was rather unusual in this one. He was found strapped to a boulder with chains on it. There were whip marks on the man's back and his spine showed significant amounts of strained activity. The police had concluded that this man was worked to death. This time, the circle had said, _The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the idle shall be under tribute._

The last murder victim was found at his home in Higashiojima. He was murdered, along with his two year old daughter and wife. They had their pinkies cut off, which was the mark of the Yamaguchi Yakuza and the circle this time said, _He who followed avarice brought trouble upon his family_. This one, however, was quite different. There was another bit of text inscribed at the bottom of the circle. It said, _She shall rise again on God's day her tainted flesh._

Bullet set down the papers. "That's so strange. Where do we even start with this?"

Beyond got out of his chair and pulled a dusty whiteboard out of the closet. He began to write down the words found in each circle.

_Superciliousness shall go before destruction_.

_She is imperfect white stained with red_.

_A heart at peace gives life to the body, but one that covets rots the bones_.

_For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. _

_The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the idle shall be under tribute._

_He who followed avarice brought trouble upon his family_.

"Some of these look familiar..." L murmured.

"They look like riddles." Naomi remarked. Bullet got up and looked carefully at the text on the board.

"Supercilious...that means haughty or arrogant, right?" She said. Naomi nodded slowly and they stood there together, thinking.

"That means that proud people will be punished. But why was this written here...?" Beyond asked. Bullet looked over the victim's file. Twenty-two year old Toshiko Hanada was an upstanding lawyer with his own law firm. He had a lot to be proud of, considering that he dealt with high class court cases.

She shook her head. "Let's move on to the next one. Maybe we'll figure out more from there."

"Alright...she is imperfect white stained with red. Red could signify blood." Naomi suggested. No one said anything and she felt foolish for saying such a thing. This was an investigation, not a poetry interpretation!

She looked over at Beyond and was surprised to see him and Bullet thinking. God, even though they were different genders, they had the same expressions on their faces whenever they were thinking. An imaginary light bulb seemed to light up and the twins looked at each other.

"Virgins!" They exclaimed. L gave his girlfriend a funny look.

"What do virgins have to do with anything?" He asked. Bullet pulled the file on the second victim off the table.

"Listen to this. 17-year-old Kumiko Matsuhara was arrested on four counts of alleged underage prostitution. If we go ahead and assume that she was a prostitute, that mean's she's not a virgin. Virgins are symbolized with the color white, right? As Naomi said, red symbolizes blood." Bullet said excitedly.

"Yeah, that's right. What's the opposite of a virgin in the bible?" Beyond said. His brain was working in high gear and he began to sense something more

"A sinful whore." Naomi stated.

"Exactly. This is starting to lead us somewhere. Let's look at the nex-" Beyond began.

"Wait a second." L said. He looked deep in thought and he stared at the board. He slammed his hands on the desk rather uncharacteristically and stood up.

"I remember now. Five of those are bible verses. They're all from the book of Proverbs." He said. Bullet, Naomi, and Beyond all stared at him for a long time.

"How the hell did you know that?" She asked quizzically.

"My parents were religious. Up until I went to the Wammy House to study, I was taught to go to church like a good Catholic kid." L said, giving her a small smile. Bullet let out a laugh.

"I can't see you being an altar boy. I'm sorry, it's just not happening." She said, letting out a giggle. He just rolled his eyes and continued to talk.

"Anyway, I'm beginning to see a pattern to this now. The first talks about pride and the second is not from the bible. It does, however, talk about whores. A promiscuous woman is also known as a lustful lady. The third is envy and the fourth is talking about gluttony. Our last two deal with laziness, also known as sloth, and the sixth is dealing with greed. Do you see where I'm going with this?" L said.

"The seven deadly sins..." Bullet muttered.

"Well, they're missing one more. Wouldn't wrath be the last one?" Naomi said.

"Yeah...but we have no way of knowing where the murder will happen." Beyond said.

"We at least know when the last one will occur. God's day would be Sunday and it's..." She replied, trailing off.

"Oh shit. Today's Sunday." Beyond said.

"We have a time limit then. We don't know exactly when the killer will strike but we need to find out before it's too late." L said. They all nodded and began to try and figure out the location where the last killing would occur.

It was silent in the room for the next three hours. Naomi was looking rather wonderingly at the files and Beyond was sitting with her, working on his laptop. Bullet suddenly stood up and walked over to L. "Do we have a projector handy?" She asked.

"Yes, I believe we do. There should be one in the closet." He said. She thanked him and ventured into the closet. L had only been staying at the Park Plaza Hotel for 11 months but this closet was full of dust. She sneezed and pulled a projector off the wall. Bullet hooked it up to her laptop and opened up Google Maps. She could see tell that everyone had stopped their work to look up at her. She pulled out a marker and began to mark the points where the murders had taken place on the whiteboard. After that, she began to copy the design of the circles onto the map. She tried to be as accurate as possible so their map would be correct. Bullet looked up at her finished work and she stared at the map in front of her.

"It's a giant circle. But for what?" Naomi said as she approached Bullet.

"This looks like a summoning circle." Beyond said.

"A summoning circle?"

"Yes. Those symbols are runes, I think." He replied.

"How in the hell do you know that?" Naomi said. Beyond just shrugged.

"I was an odd kid. I got into some pretty weird stuff as I grew up." He said, giving Bullet a meaningful glance.

"Well, if it is a summoning circle, then what are they trying to summon?" L said.

"I thought you didn't believe in the paranormal." Beyond shot back.

"We've been working on the Kira case. I've found things that I didn't believe in before. Pretty much anything goes now." L said.

"Hey, we found something." Naomi called. Bullet was on her computer and she opened a website up.

"The _Immortalis_ is a theoretical apparatus used in ancient alchemy. It supposedly grants its user immortality. The user must prove themselves pure in order to get that immortality. They must rid themselves of the seven worldly evils. Many have tried and failed over the ages but the last known person to attempt this killed thirty people before he drove himself to insanity and took his own life as well." She read.

"If Bullet's map is correct then the killer will strike at the center of Tokyo, which would be...the Chuo Police Station. Naomi and Bullet, would you care to go there just in case the killer show up?" L said.

"I'm game. Let's go." Naomi said. Bullet shrugged and stood up.

"Sure. Do you have any specific instructions for us?" She asked.

"If our guy attacks you, don't hesitate to hit him back. I know that Naomi has a pretty mean left hook." Beyond said. She just rolled her eyes and put on her coat. Naomi and Bullet grabbed a small flashlight off the table and Bullet said goodbye to L. She went off with Naomi to the Chuo Police Station.

When they got there, the police station was bustling with people. "How are we supposed to tell who it is?" Naomi whispered.

"I don't know. Maybe we should snoop around, see if we can find any more circles." Bullet said quietly. They slipped past the receptionist's desk and came to the elevator. They went in and the elevator stopped on the fourth floor.

"Let's split up. You go up and I'll check the lower floors." Bullet said.

"Sounds good. I'll call you if I find anything." Naomi said. They said goodbye and Bullet walked around the fourth floor. It was quiet, save for the occasional ringing of the phone or the shuffle of papers. Bullet couldn't find anything so she went back down to the third and second floor. There was nothing notable there either so she went down to the first floor. Bullet walked around but found no circles there. Where were the transmutation circles? There was one sin left, which was wrath.

Was her map wrong?

"Excuse me, could you direct me to the basement floor?" Bullet said to the receptionist. The woman gave her an odd stare but kept an apologetic smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. There's never been a basement floor." She said. Bullet felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment and she quickly left the building. She pulled out her phone and called Naomi.

"Did you find anything?" Naomi said.

"Nope. I looked on the fourth, third, second, and first floor but there was nothing. I tried to ask if there was a basement floor but they never built one." Bullet replied.

"I'm coming down the elevator right now. Do you think that your map is wrong?" She said.

"I don't think so. I plotted the points where each death happened. They were all a point on the circles found at the crime scenes. There's no where else in town that I think it could be." Bullet replied.

"Maybe the killer is trying to trick us. Maybe these circles are just a distraction." Naomi said.

"Well, maybe they're not. They went to all this trouble with the circle drawing business. We can assume that our man is a full tilt diva. They want the history books to know their name. Whoever it is, they want their presence to be known." Bullet said.

"That seems accurate. And if you were summoning stuff, isn't the general rule to stand in the middle?" Naomi said.

"Yeah, that's right. If you were going to do the _Imortalis_ summoning, everything within that circle would probably just die. Maybe it's just around here somewhere." Bullet said. Naomi came out of the building at that moment and Bullet waved at her. She walked over to her and they sat at a park bench in front of the police station.

"So where do you think that it could be?" Bullet said.

"I don't know. Honestly, I don't. We need to figure out where the killer will strike because it's going to get late soon." Naomi said.

They decided to go back to the hotel. Bullet stood up and stretched. A glint of light caught her eye and she stared at the object. There was a little shrine in between a convenience store and an apartment. The glint was coming from the afternoon sunlight hitting a gilt statue. There was a tiny house behind it that looked old and abandoned. It was secluded in the shade of the buildings and no one paid any mind to it.

"Naomi, look." Bullet said. She pointed to the building and Naomi looked unperturbed.

"That's a shrine, Bullet." Naomi said.

"Well, yeah but look at the little house behind it. It's secluded. What if my map was off by a little bit and the circle was there?" Bullet said. Naomi thought about her statement and she found herself nodding slowly.

"It could be there." She replied.

"Let's go check it out then." Bullet said. The two crossed the street briskly and went into the shrine. Bullet went up to the door but it was locked with a rusty padlock.

"Here, let me try." Naomi said. Bullet stepped aside and let her have her way with it. Naomi pulled a gun out of her coat pocket and flipped the safety on. She hit the lock with the butt of the gun and it clattered loudly to the ground.

"Isn't this breaking and entering?" Bullet whispered. Naomi just shrugged.

"Technically, we're cops. It's perfectly legitimate." She said with a smirk. Bullet made no effort to object and they walked in.

It was totally dark and she couldn't see anything. Bullet turned the flashlight on and crept around. It was an old monk's hut, by the looks of it. There was a statue and a dusty old bed. Over time, graffiti was added and she saw a swastika on the wall. Bullet sneezed and stood up.

"I don't see any circles." She said.

"Neither do I...this is just a creepy old house." Naomi replied. She started to walk towards Bullet but tripped suddenly. Naomi swore loudly and rubbed her knee.

"What happened?" Bullet said, rushing over to her. She looked onto the floor and spied an odd metal handle. Naomi noticed it too and she pulled on it curiously. A panel in the board came off and revealed a basement down below.

"Hey, we didn't check there." Naomi said.

"Should we?" Bullet said hesitantly. All of her instincts were screaming at her not to go. It looked dark and damp. It was the perfect place for a murder.

"Why not?" Naomi said as she headed down the stairs. Bullet followed after her, saying nothing. They got down there and turned on their flashlights. A shrill ring broke the eerie silence and Bullet jumped about a foot in the air. Naomi pointed to her pocket with a smile and Bullet suddenly felt foolish. It was just her phone.

"Hello?" Bullet said.

"Where are you two? It's 5:30 and you guys have been out for a while." L said.

"Oh, it's just you! Jeez, you scared me! Anyway, we couldn't find anything in the police station but we are investigating the next possible location." Bullet replied.

"And where would that be?"

"It's a little shrine. It's across the street from the police station, in between a convenience store and an apartment complex." She said.

"Hold on, I'm looking it up." L said. In the meantime, Bullet walked around with Naomi. The basement was a lot more complex than the upper floor. There were little rooms that didn't seem to lead anywhere.

"Bullet, are you still there?" He said.

"Yep."

"Alright. The shrine you're in...urban legend says something occurred there about 6 years ago. It's said that there was a young schoolgirl who was taken there on Halloween." L said.

"Ok, a schoolgirl. No big deal." Bullet said. She felt uneasy and fought the urge to run away.

"She was raped and then killed. The police say that there was no evidence of the murder. Case closed." L said. Bullet stopped walking and stared around her.

"Are you serious...?" Bullet said slowly.

"You're in there right now, aren't you?"

"You bet. Hold on a sec, ok?" She said. Bullet put the phone down for a second and told Naomi the story. Naomi, for once, looked freaked out.

"Should we get out of here?" Naomi whispered.

"I want to leave too but we need to find our killer. If he did set up a circle here then we need to keep looking." Bullet said. Naomi nodded and turned on her flashlight.

"Hey L, we're gonna keep looking. If our killer was here, then we need to stay." Bullet said.

"Sounds good. Be careful." L said. She could tell that he was about to hang up and tried to stop him.

"No, wait! Stay on the phone with me!" Bullet insisted.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm freaking terrified. This place is so creepy. If you were here, I'm sure you'd agree." She said. He chuckled and let out a sigh.

"Alright, fine. Tell me what you see down there." L said.

"Well, not much. Hey Naomi, have you fou-" Bullet said as she touched her shoulder. She stopped when she saw that the figure in front of her was not Naomi. Bullet looked down and saw a schoolgirl's skirt. Her blood went cold and Bullet took a step back.

"I've just been taking some photos...hey wait, isn't that a circle?" A voice said from behind her. Bullet whirled around and saw Naomi holding out her phone. She pointed her flashlight at a marking in the floor in front of her but then looked back at Bullet. Naomi stared at Bullet and then at the figure in front of them. The girl turned around and she stared into her pale face. Bullet saw blood all over the apparition's face.

"Bullet? What's... on...?" L said. The line was breaking up but he still heard the sound of the two women screaming. Bullet and Naomi tore out of the basement. They scrambled up the stairs and Naomi threw the door open. Bullet ran to the front and they fell at the steps in front of the shrine.

"What. The. Hell." Naomi said.

"I don't know what that was. That was freaking terrifying." Bullet said. Her heart was beating a million beats per minute and she had to slow her breathing down to lower her heart rate.

"Let's get out of here. I don't want that thing coming after us." Naomi said. Bullet agreed and they took the subway back to the hotel. They were both pretty shaken by their paranormal encounter. The two women stumbled into the hotel room and Bullet collapsed into a chair.

"Bullet, what the hell happened? The line went dead and we heard you two screaming." Beyond demanded.

"She saw something. I saw something. It was terrifying." Naomi said softly.

"Well, what was it?" L said.

"You know that urban legend you told me about? It turns out it was true." Bullet said, letting out a heavy sigh.

"How did you know?" L asked.

"I was walking down in the basement of the shrine. I went up to a girl who I thought was Naomi. She was wearing a schoolgirl's uniform and when she turned around, there was blood all over her face." Bullet replied.

"You're kidding." Beyond chimed in.

"Nuh-uh! This is legit! Look at this!" Naomi exclaimed. She had connected her phone to L's laptop and she scrolled through the contents of her photos. There were photos of the numerous rooms. She got to the last picture and both men couldn't believe what they were seeing.

It was a girl.

The apparition that the two women had seen was caught on camera. In the picture, Bullet's hand was on the shoulder of a young girl. L sharpened the image and they saw that she was wearing a school uniform.

"How did you get this photo?" Bullet said.

"My thumb was still on the button when I walked over to you. I was lucky enough to get it." Naomi said.

"Well…looks like you guys weren't lying." Beyond muttered.

"Did you find anything else?" L said.

"Even though we had the living shit scared out of us, we did find a circle. I caught a glimpse of it before we ran out." Naomi said.

"That's good. We'll send the police over there and we might check it out for ourselv-" L began.

"Wait! What if the thing is still there? We don't exactly know what it is." Bullet said.

"What if it's like the Grudge or something?" Naomi said. Bullet nodded and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, she's right! What do we do now?" She said.

"First of all, we need to make sure that this wasn't just some Halloween prank. Bullet, did you see a name or death date above that person's head?" Beyond said.

"I'm not sure. I can't really remember." Bullet said.

"Excellent. We have a fifty percent chance of it being real." He replied, leaning back into his chair.

"How is that excellent?! This is freaky!" Bullet exclaimed.

"If it were a prank, my dear sister, I would be quite disappointed. Recreating a murder on Halloween? Very unoriginal." Beyond said. A thought crossed Naomi's mind and she interrupted Beyond.

"Wait a second, recreating a murder…" She muttered. Naomi went to L's laptop and she looked up the _onryo_, which was a Japanese ghost.

"It's said here that they onryo has different reasons for manifesting. It could be the spirit of someone who was killed, seeking revenge. That explains why that ghost is there." Naomi said.

"That's true. But we still don't know who our killer is." Bullet interjected.

"We'll find out soon. Grab a gun and let's go check it out." L said. Bullet looked uncomfortable with this but she took the gun off the table and put it in her coat pocket.

"Wait. We have to get something first." Bullet said. L shrugged and tossed her the car keys.

They took L's car and drove down to a church. The street was relatively quiet and they walked quickly to the priest's house. Bullet knocked on the door and an elderly man answered the door.

"Why, hello. What can I do for you?" He said.

"Good evening, sir. I need your help. How does one go about conducting exorcisms?" Bullet said. He looked surprised but mildly intrigued.

"Hmm...I think I need you to come in." He said. The man let them in and he sat them down on the couch. The man pulled a box off the shelf. He opened it and showed them seven daggers.

"These are seven daggers that we dipped in holy water when they were created. They have been in my family for generations. Whenever I do an exorcism, I bring this. You are supposed to put them in a circle on the ground. Make a circle of holy water and sit in the middle. You will recite the words in this book and you will hear a lot of noise. When all that has died down, you can come out and your spirit will be gone." The priest said.

"Are you sure this even works?" Beyond said. There was a steely glint in the elderly man's eye.

"This hasn't failed me yet." He retorted. Bullet nodded and thanked him.

"Be careful when you're doing this. This kind of thing is dangerous. Are any of you sick?" He said.

"I don't think so, no." Naomi said.

"Good. If one of you are sick, the spirit will take your body because you are weakened. Take this to prevent it from flying into you." He said, handing them each a rosary.

"Thank you for your kindness, sir. This is really going to help us." Bullet said. He nodded and told her to return the daggers when she was done. They got back in the car and L gave Bullet a look.

"You're not going to actually attempt to send it back to where it came from, are you?" He said.

"Hey, that's a schoolgirl in there. She needs to be put to rest." Bullet said as she put the key in the ignition.

"I don't think it actually works...I've never heard of an exorcism working." L said skeptically.

"We'll have to see if it does." Bullet said. They sped off to the Chuo Police Station. Everyone got out of the car and walked over to the shrine. It looked even creepier than it did before and there was a single candle sitting in front of the door. Bullet put her flashlight in one hand and held the gun in the other. She led her brother, Naomi, and L down to the secret basement.

"Here we are." She said.

"You set up for your ceremony thing. We'll wait for the criminal." Beyond said. Bullet nodded and set the box on the ground. They heard footsteps from the south room and Naomi shined her light on the oncoming figure. This time, it wasn't the girl.

It was a man.

He had brown eyes that looked lifeless and his face was pale. He didn't exactly look like serial killer material. The man let out a cough and he looked at them warily.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" He said. They heard muffled screaming and a boatload of noise. Naomi took charge of the situation, being an ex-FBI agent and all. They circled the man and pointed their guns at him.

"Tokyo Police. Put your hands up!" She demanded. The man let out a low laugh and pulled out his weapon. L saw him click the safety off and he fired a shot at the man's gun. It was blown out of his hand and he let out a yell. He fumbled in his pocket for a knife and Bullet nodded at her brother.

They rushed at the killer and began to fight him. He tried to slash Bullet's throat but she ducked and Beyond grabbed the back of his head. He pushed him to the ground and the two fought their attacker. Their attacks flowed together seamlessly and it looked like they had been doing this for a long time.

While Bullet and Beyond were fighting, L and Naomi rushed over to the source of the muffled screaming. The man was tied to a chair and his face was bloody and bruised. L recognized him as the missing army general. Naomi and L carried him up the stairs and set him on the old bed.

"Stay here." L said.

They went back down and saw that Bullet had used the leftover rope to tie the man up. Beyond was guarding him and she was hastily trying to make a circle with the holy water. The circle was a little misshapen and she didn't notice a tiny part of the circle was not connected. The ground was soft and earthy so she stuck the knives in there easily.

Bullet pulled out a little black book. She began muttering something and L saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He shined his flashlight over to the corner and his entire body went numb. It was the girl again. Beyond looked surprised.

"There's no name...so this isn't a prank." He said.

The man beside him began to scream and flail aimlessly. Naomi looked terrified but she maintained her dignity by pointing a gun at it. The spirit let out a shriek and she flew across the room. She got about four feet in front of Naomi but then stopped. It was like there was a barrier between them. The girl tried to go for L and Beyond but was unable to do so. She flew across the room and collided with the man in the chair.

He shuddered and his eyeballs rolled back, showing only the whites of his eyes. His head began to jerk in different directions and he spoke in a low voice. It sounded like there were four of him instead of one.

"You ruined it all." He said.

"What were you planning to do?" L said.

"They robbed me of my chance at life! I was supposed to live again!" He wailed. Beyond knew that this was the girl talking now.

"What did you do to this man? Talk." Beyond demanded. The man laughed mirthlessly and looked him into the eyes.

"He kept coming back. He wanted to know if the urban legend was true. This man was sick when he came down here so he was weakened. The other spirits told me that there were ways to come back so I possessed his body to bring me back to life. But you ruined it! All of it!" He screeched. The man's eyes suddenly shut and the spirit of the girl came out of his body, leaving him unconscious.

She rushed towards Bullet. L fired a shot at the ghost out of both curiosity and fear for his girlfriend. The spirit took over Bullet and they watched in horror as the raven-haired woman shuddered. She opened her eyes and turned to look at them. Her eyes were glowing a sanguine red. But this time, the spirit wasn't able to take over her. The ghost was flung out of her body by a shadow hand and the hand took hold of the holy water, pouring a little bit at the part that wasn't connected. Bullet continued to speak in a low voice and she stood up and clapped her hands down on the floor.

There was a sudden cacophony of noise. The ghost of the girl in the corner was screaming and flailing. Her body was contorting into different and she began to get smaller and smaller until she finally disappeared.

Bullet stepped out of the circle and wobbled on her feet. L rushed over to her and caught her. She let out a huff and stared into his dark eyes. He looked concerned and he brushed a hair out of her eyes.

"Are you all right?" L said. She smiled at him and stood up.

"Yeah, I think so." She said. Naomi and Beyond had dragged the body up the stairs. L helped her up clean up the daggers and the holy water. They put it back in the box and Bullet threw salt over her shoulder and muttered something, just to be safe.

She looked back at the circle that was drawn on the ground. It looked the same as the other ones but the words in this one said, _A being of wrath stirs up strife. One given to anger causes much transgression._ Bullet snorted.

How fitting.

After being questioned about what happened, the police let them go and they drove back to the church. Bullet gave the box back to the priest and thanked him. When he asked how it went, Bullet said that everything went fine and the spirit was gone. He nodded approvingly and they headed back to the hotel.

When they got into the room, Beyond collapsed on the couch. Naomi stayed with him and she put her head on his chest. L disappeared and went off to go change into clean clothes.

"I've never seen anything like that before." She said honestly.

"Wake up, Naomi. What you thought was fiction before can actually be true." He joked. She snorted and shook her head.

"In a world like this, anything goes." Naomi said. Bullet had changed her clothes and she looked extremely tired. L came out of the bathroom and he leaned on a chair in the main room.

"God, I feel like shit. What happened?" She said. Bullet ran a hand through her hair and L put an arm around her.

"You were possessed by the spirit of an angry teenage girl. But, there was this shadow hand that came and just bitch-slapped the spirit into the wall." Naomi said.

"Well put, Naomi. That might explain why I feel like I just got run over. At least that's over." Bullet said.

"Yeah. I hope we don't have to go through any more paranormal ordeal any time soon." L said. She smiled at her boyfriend but had a feeling that it wouldn't be their last bout with the paranormal.

They still had Kira to deal with.

* * *

Well, that's it! I actually hit seven thousand words this time! I feel so happy! Anyway, thanks for all the reviews so far and **don't forget to review**! All of the places in the story are actually real. There really is a shrine near the Chuo Police Station in Tokyo. I found it on Google Maps by luck and it was perfect. It looked pretty creepy too. I printed out a map and and made a circle, plotting the points where each murder occurred onto it. I did this is my physics class and my teacher thought I was trying to recreate the Da Vinci code. Haha :D Try it yourself, if you want because it really does make a circle!

**BUT**!

For the record, L's urban legend isn't true. Don't worry, I made it up. And that's not really how you conduct an exorcism. I don't think so. By the way, this chapter is a Halloween special and it's chapter 13! Isn't that kooky? I didn't even plan that :D

Bye~!

-uniquename200


	14. Chapter 14: A Move Is Made

Thank god, SAT fever is over! I now have some time to write! Finally!

**_ANYWAY...I HAVE LOTS OF SHOUTOUTS THIS WEEK!_**

**_SecretlyADemon: Congratulations! You are my twentieth reviewer! You left two reviews and that makes me very happy! You always motivate me and I'm glad iyou stuck around to see more of this story. I LOVE YOU (no homo :D)_**

**_Jestie Uchiha: Hello there! Thanks for leaving a review! You'll have to wait and see if L will figure out Bullet's job! Tee hee!_**

**_Ms. Victoria Kiryu: Hi there! Another new reviewer! I like friends :) Anyway, I'm glad you like my story and I hope you stick around for more!_**

* * *

**_(April 18, 2004- 5:58 PM)_**

The day had begun like any other day.

A week had passed and Bullet was working with L on the case, as usual. She had told Beyond to discreetly review Light's file. Bullet still didn't trust that kid. There was something weird about him. It was like he was too perfect to even be real. She was willing to do whatever it took to find out what his secret was so she could put her mind to rest.

Watari was sitting quietly at his desk, looking over his emails. He opened a file and saw that it was an email from Vice-Director Kitamura. "L, could you please turn on the TV to Sakura TV?" He said. The black haired man nodded and turned on the television set.

"_-e have just received video tapes from a person claiming to be Kira! This is not a hoax because they predicted the death of two arrested criminals, and last night the criminals both died of heart failure at 5 PM!_" The anchorman said. Everyone in the room looked up from their work at the sound of this news and stopped what they were doing. Bullet had a lurching feeling in her stomach because she knew that something was going to happen in the next few days. The mic was grabbed from him and taken by another man.

"_We will now air the tapes on live television. None of us have watched the tapes ourselves, so here we are_!" The man said. The screen turned black and the letter L appeared in the same font that L used to make the letter. L began to wonder if this font was used to taunt him. There was fuzz from the audio but that cleared when the person began to speak.

"_I am Kira. If this tape is aired at exactly 5:59 PM on April 18th, it should be 5:59:38 right now_." They said. The voice on the screen began to count off seconds. When they reached the ten second mark, they suddenly began to speak again.

"_Change your channels to Taiyou TV. Their news anchor will die of a heart attack at exactly 6:00 PM_." As they said this, the news anchor on the screen clutched at his chest and fell over. Bullet stared at the screen in disbelief. What the heck was going on?

"_One death is not enough to prove that I am Kira. I will sacrifice another commentator from Taiyou TV for speaking against me as well."_ They said. In the next forty seconds, another television anchor was killed.

"Mogi, get the television from the back room. I want it switched to NHN so we can see what's going on." L commanded. The man nodded and rushed off.

"What the hell are they thinking? This is crazy!" Beyond exclaimed.

"Kira is manipulating the mind of the public. We need to stop this broadcast as soon as possible." L muttered. Matsuda sat at the phone and he slammed down the receiver.

"Sakura TV's line is busy. I can't contact them." He said.

"I have a friend that works there. Let me see if I can call him." Aizawa said. The phone rang for five minutes but they had no luck in contacting the station. Bullet continued to watch the news broadcast and fought off her unease.

_"I do not wish to kill innocent people and the police do not have to be my enemies. My goal is to create a world without crime. If you disagree with me, as long as you do not go against me in public, you will not be killed_." The voice stated. Ukita slammed his hand down on the desk, which caused Bullet to look back at him.

"Damn it! We can't just sit around and let this happen! We need to go down there and stop this now!" He yelled. Bullet's eyes widened in terror and Beyond noticed why his sister had looked so scared.

Ukita's numbers were slowly dwindling down to zero.

"We can't do anything, Ukita. We're sitting ducks." Matsuda said.

"If you guys aren't willing to do anything, I'll go down there and stop them myself!" He exclaimed. Bullet sprang out of her seat and tackled him on his way to the door.

"Ukita, don't be so reckless! Kira will kill you if you go down there!" She said.

"Let me go! We need to stop this now!" He said. Ukita shoved Bullet to the side and he went out the door. Bullet got up to stop him but Beyond held her back.

"Bullet, let him go. He's not going to listen." He said softly. A tear streamed down her cheek and she thought of one death she could have prevented. Beyond set her down on the couch and went back to the phones, in hopes of contacting the police station. L and Watari looked back at her in surprise.

"Hey, what's wrong?" L said. He sounded quite concerned. He went over to her and she just shook her head.

"His numbers...went to zero. Ukita's going to die. I could've saved him..." Bullet said quietly. Alarm flickered in L's eyes. He realized how terrible it was to see the date of someone's death but not be able to do anything about it. They watched Ukita on the screen, standing at the front of the Sakura TV station. He was yelling for a guard to unlock the door and he pulled out his gun. Ukita suddenly clutched at his chest and began to writhe in pain. He finally collapsed at the front door, dead.

_"Imagine a world where I work together with the police to rid evil. Wouldn't that be perfect? Our world would finally be good, like God intended it to be_." The voice said.

"This is bullshit! We need to go down there and stop him ourselves!" Aizawa exclaimed. Bullet stopped him and shook her head.

"No, we don't need anyone else dying today." She said firmly.

"That's true. It would be unwise to go. You'll probably end up like Ukita." L said.

"Have our identities been leaked?" Aizawa asked. L shook his head and turned back to the television screen.

"I don't think so. I said before that Kira needed a name and a face to kill. Maybe now, he only needs a face." L said, while giving Beyond and Bullet a look.

"That would mean that Kira is probably hiding near the station." Beyond said.

"Kira could also be watching us by tapping into the security cameras." Matsuda suggested.

"Well, we can't do anything so we should just keep watching the broadcast." Mogi said. They all agreed on that and sat down on the couches. It appeared to be calm so far but from the corner Fifth Avenue, an armored truck crashed into the front of the building.

"_Oh my goodness! A truck has crashed into the front of Sakura TV station!"_ The reporter exclaimed. The TV screen flickered and went back to Kira's broadcast.

"_If you are willing to help me purify the world, please give me an answer four days from now. Air the tapes on April 22nd at 6 PM with your answer_." Kira said. The screen switched back to the truck and a figure emerged. He had a jacket covering his face but the task force caught a glimpse of his face.

"Holy shit, is that Soichiro?" Matsuda said.

"He's still pretty spry for an older gentleman. I'm impressed. It must be calisthenics. What do you think his plan is?" Aizawa said.

"I'm not sure. He seems to have realized that Kira needs a face to kill. His endeavor does seem promising." L said. They waited in suspense and suddenly, Sakura TV's broadcast was cut off. The other stations continued to report the incidents but L decided that it was time to do something.

"Watari, could you get vice-director Kitamura on the line?" He said. The older gentleman nodded and he dialed a number on the phone. L took the phone and put it on speaker.

"_Hello_?" The voice said.

"Director Kitamura, this is L. We need you to send police officers to the Sakura TV station to block Soichiro Yagami from view." L said. He quickly agreed and they watched as police cars arrived and used their bodies and armored police vehicles to cover Soichiro from Kira's view.

"_The police have taken a stand against Kira! Can they put an end to this nightmare?" _NHN's reporter said. L saw an armored vehicle drive away and he leaned back in the couch. He flipped the television off and stood up.

"The worst is over. They've gotten out of the station and he's headed to the police station. Soichiro seems healthy enough to come back to work." He said.

"Thank god. Now what?" Matsuda said.

"For now, I think that it's best that all of you go home. All we can do now is wait. We'll get the tapes in the morning and I will call you all over here when I get them." L said. They all nodded and went on their ways. Mogi left with Aizawa and Matsuda. Beyond went away to get ready for bed but Bullet sat alone on the couch, staring blankly at the television set. L approached her when it was all over and sat down next to her.

"Bullet? Are you sure you're all right?" He said softly. She turned to look at him and gave him a small smile.

"I'll be okay. That was the first time in a long time when I couldn't prevent someone from dying. The other was..." Bullet said quietly, her voice trailing off. Most of the time she was the cause for the person's death. This time, it wasn't her but the work of someone trying to play God with people's lives.

"Was...?" L said. Bullet looked down at her lap and twiddled with her thumbs absentmindedly.

"When Beyond and I were nine, we watched our father die. We could've done something but for some inexplicable reason, we were unable to do anything." She said. He looked at her for a while and she looked back down at her hands. Bullet felt tears welling up into her eyes and a hot tear rolled down her cheek.

"Just give me a second. It'll pass..." She mumbled. Bullet felt L's finger touch her face and he wiped her tears away. Bullet buried her face into her knees and to her surprise, she felt two arms wrap around her. L pulled her close to him and they cuddled together on the couch. She was touched by his kind gesture and she felt tears welling up in her eyes. Bullet began to cry again and L held her close to him. After a while, he glanced down and saw that the raven haired woman had fallen asleep in his arms. He made sure that she was fast asleep and moved her to a bed.

L glanced back at Bullet and shut the door behind him. He let her sleep there until the morning, in hopes that she would feel better tomorrow.

**_(April 19, 2004-7:21 AM)_**

Bullet felt sunlight hitting her face and she jolted out of bed. She looked around and realized that this was not her bedroom. What had happened last night? She thought back and remembered that Kira had made his move. He was probably trying to manipulate the public eye now. But how did she end up in...

Oh.

Bullet recalled how she had cried over the fact that she couldn't save someone. Normally, this wouldn't affect her but she knew Ukita and could've prevented his death. L had comforted her and she figured that he had put her in the bed in the other room. She got up and stretched, yawning loudly as she did so.

Bullet went into the bathroom and fixed up her appearance. She unwrapped a toothbrush from its packet and brushed her teeth. Bullet padded into the living room and found L working already.

"Good morning." She said with a yawn.

"Morning. Feeling better?" L said.

"Yeah. Thank you for that, by the way. It made me feel a lot better." She said as she gave him a kiss.

"It's fine. That's what I'm supposed to do, after all." He said. Bullet smiled at him and started to put on her shoes.

"L, I'm going home for a bit to change clothes. I'll see you in a little bit." She said as she headed out the door. He said goodbye and Bullet went down the elevator. She walked to the subway and went back to her house.

When she got inside, she immediately went off to go take a shower. Bullet finished and stared at the scars on her arms and legs from the job she had take last week. The bruises had turned an unflattering shade of yellow that stuck out on her skin. She sighed and put a pair of pants on. Bullet got into a long-sleeved shirt to cover up the ones on her arms.

She went out to the living room and sat down on the couch. Bullet wanted to summon Noir so she could talk to him about Kira's latest act. "Noir? I need to talk to you. Could you come out?" She called. Bullet felt foolish for talking to the air and shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. The shadow from the piano suddenly morphed into a figure and she found Noir standing in front of her. This time, he looked different. Instead of a faceless shadow figure, he looked like a person. He had short, black hair and a pair of dark colored wings. His skin was gray and his eyes were yellow with red irises. For some reason, he was wearing a tattered suit.

"What is it?" He grumbled.

"I need to talk to you. Kira made his next move." Bullet said.

"Your point being...?" Noir said.

"Kira was able to kill from a distance. I don't think he even knew the names of anyone there." She said. Noir suddenly got a big grin on his face and he shook his head.

"That fool. He must have made the deal then." He replied.

"What deal?" Bullet said, looking puzzled.

"You were born with those eyes. People who have a notebook are not." Noir said vaguely.

"Noir, what are you trying to say?" She said, looking annoyed.

"There are only six notebooks in existence. As far as I know, only two have been dropped on earth. If a person has a notebook, they can make a deal with the shinigami that came with the book. They will trade half of their human life to be able to see the names and death dates of other people." He explained.

"That's terrible! Why would anyone want this?" Bullet said, sounding disgusted. Noir simply shrugged.

"I suppose they would want to use the powers of the notebook to the fullest of their extent." He replied.

"So, Kira has the eyes too. Does that mean they can see my name floating above my head too?" She said. He shook his head.

"They cannot. For the people with a shinigami, you can see only their name. Even their shinigami are not able to see your name. You are practically invisible to them. It's the same for your brother too. I left part of my soul in him. That explains why you can't see his name or death date." Noir said.

"But why?" Bullet asked.

"Other shinigami cannot see each others' names. For people who have picked up a notebook and are not born with these eyes, they cannot see your name or death date. As long as I am here, they will be unable to detect you because I am a shinigami living inside of you." He replied. Bullet suddenly remembered the day she had gone to pick up L from the university and had heard odd voices coming from Light.

"Noir, I have a question. Is it possible to hear other shinigami but not be able to see them?" She said.

"For you, that means that the person you're talking about has a notebook but you haven't touched it yet." He said. Bullet cursed loudly and stood up. The creature looked at her before turning back around.

"Can I leave now?" Noir said.

"Yes. Thank you again." Bullet said. He nodded and then disappeared from view. She put on her shoes, grabbed her keys, and hurried out the door. Bullet's mind was racing and she walked faster and faster down the street. She knew who Kira was now.

It was Light.

Why hadn't she realized it earlier? Oh my god, what if he was the one who killed people last night? Bullet got on the subway and thought of what could happen if she didn't stop him. Light might make the deal and kill L! But wait, what if there were others? Bullet was faced with the scary thought that Light might not be the only one with a notebook. Noir did say that there were two currently on earth. Who was the other one then?

She fought off her unease as she walked up to the doors of the Park Plaza Hotel. Bullet calmed her heart rate down in the elevator and she opened the door to the room. L was sitting at a laptop with Watari and Beyond was drinking a cup of coffee. Everyone had arrived and they were all seated at the couches with a box of tapes on the coffee table.

"Hello everyone. What are these?" She said.

"These are the tapes that Soichiro took. Tapes three and four came with instructions. If we agree to work with Kira, tape number three should be broadcasted; if we do not, then tape number four should be broadcasted." L said.

"The third tape contains details of the agreement, saying that the police must release criminal records so that Kira can judge them. To add to that, all of us must reveal our identities publicly." He continued.

The phone rang suddenly and L went to go answer it. He left the room and Bullet picked up a tape.

"Have you guys watched them yet?" She said.

"Yes. The fourth tape says that if we don't release the criminal records Kira will kill police officers and reporters, and then demands that the life of the man in charge of the Kira investigation be handed over. They want to reveal L's identity on April 26." Aizawa said.

"If we send L, he has to go on Sakura TV's 6 o'clock news and give a ten minute speech. Kira will then decide if the person on the news is the real thing. Apparently, Kira doesn't kill innocents so we shouldn't lie." Mogi said with a scoff.

"I assume that we'll be airing the fourth tape. There's no way we're helping Kira. Would you sacrifice a few lives for a hundred? A thousand, maybe? It seems like the more plausible option." Beyond said. L came back into the room and he had a distressed expression on his face.

"What is it, L?" Watari said.

"Soichiro called me to tell me that the ICPO had made a decision. They want me to go on TV. They made the logical choice, considering that I was the one to taunt Kira on television." He said.

"Hold on a sec! Kira might not even believe that you're L!" Matsuda protested.

"If it comes to that, I will reveal myself to save the lives of the other officers. Although, I'm not sure how I would prove to Kira that I am the real thing." L said.

"We're not sending L on TV! Absolutely not." Bullet said sharply. He let out a sigh and approached her.

"Then what? Bullet, I know you're worried about me but I have to do something." He said exasperatedly.

"Well, don't go! We'll find some other solution." She insisted. There was a hint of fear in her eyes but L did not notice that she looked scared.

"What other option do I have? People are dying out there. I can't just sit here and do nothing!" He snapped. Bullet's temper flared up in an instant and she stood her ground.

"There's probably some other choice. Kira could kill you. Hell, he probably will!" She shot back.

"My life should be none of your concern." He said. Bullet shot him an ice cold glare and she crossed her arms across her chest defiantly.

"I have every right to worry about you! I'm your girlfriend, for god's sake!" Bullet said angrily. L had no way to argue to that and she continued to rant.

"I can't let you die! You know why? I would have to live with knowing that I could've saved you because I knew exactly when you would die!" She said. Bullet's words began to sink in and everyone in the room stared at her.

"What are you talking about, Bullet?" Matsuda said. She couldn't come up with anything to tell them.

"Wait, are you trying to say that you know when we're all going to die?" Mogi said suspiciously.

"No! Well...wait, I mean..." Bullet stuttered. Beyond looked somewhat amused.

"The cat's out of the bag, Bullet." He drawled. She scowled and glared at her brother.

"God, that's not what I meant! Take Ukita's death for example. I'm pretty sure we all knew that Kira was going to kill him. We could've prevented his death and tried to make him listen to us but he wouldn't. I don't want it to be like that. I don't want anyone else to die. I'm sick of it." Bullet said. Her voice faltered a little bit and she kept silent, almost daring them to object to her statement. Beyond had a small smile on his face and he admired how she had handled the situation. Her secret almost got out and she was that close from being declared a Kira suspect.

"Is that how you really feel?" L said.

"Yeah. I don't just worry about L or Beyond or Watari. Believe it or not, I care about you guys too. Like I said, I don't want anyone else on the task force to die because you're good people that don't deserve to get their lives away by a psychotic murderer. With that being said, I'm sure there's another option instead of sending L on TV." She replied. L sighed and sat back down in his chair.

They spent the rest of the day, working as usual. Mogi went down to the Sakura TV station to interview Demegawa, the head of the TV station, while Watari went to the hospital to go check on Soichiro. Matsuda and Aizawa had gone to the police station to scan the tapes for any fingerprints or hairs. Bullet stayed with L and Beyond at the hotel. There was an awkward silence that hung in the air for the majority of the day. Bullet sat at her desk, trying to think of a solution to their problem. What could she do to make sure that no one else died?

Noir had told her earlier that Kira probably had the eyes too. But so what? What good did that information serve her? He had also said that people with the eyes were unable to see her name because she had a shinigami inside of her...

Wait.

Bullet suddenly shot out of her chair., nearly knocking it over as she did so. The two men looked up at her and she walked over to Beyond.

"Beyond, I need you to come with me. Let's go." She said. Bullet dragged him out of his chair and out the door.

"Ouch! Bullet, let go! What is this about?" He protested as they walked down the hallway.

"Come on!" She urged. They went down the elevator and sat down on a little bench in the park outside.

"What could be so important that you had to drag me out here to-" Beyond began.

"Would you just shut up and listen to me for a sec? I wanted to tell you that I talked to Noir again this morning." Bullet said. He stopped talking and stared at her.

"Noir?"

"That's the name of the shinigami inside of me." She explained.

"Ah, I see. I thought you had to kill someone so he would appear." Beyond said. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Apparently not. He just likes to appear when I kill people just to piss me off. I can call him out any time." She said.

"Ok, I guess. What did he say?" He replied.

"Well, he told me earlier that there are these notebooks called Death Notes. This is how Kira kills people from a distance. There are several rules to each. If a human picks it up, they can see the shinigami that comes with the notebook. When you write the name of the person in that notebook, they'll die. The writer has to imagine the person's face in their mind when they write the name so that people who share the same name are not affected. Also, if you don't specify the cause of death, the person will just die of a heart attack. You have to write the details of that death in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds." She said. Beyond's eyes widened and he sat there, trying to process this information.

"So you're saying...we can die from just having our names written in a notebook?" He said.

"Yeah. This morning, he said that shinigami probably has the eyes too. He also told me that shinigami can't see each others' names. Apparently, you carry part of his soul inside of you and that explains why I can't see your name or death date floating above your head. " She said.

"And your point is?" He said curiously.

"If I go on TV and pose as L, I won't die. Why? Well, if we assume that Kira has the eyes then he can't see my name. If I pose as L, then there's a chance that we could lure Kira out of hiding and catch him." Bullet said.

"Well, that's certainly a possibility. How will you convince L?" He said.

"That's the thing. I kind of need you to back me up in this argument." She said as she fiddled with her thumbs. Bullet looked up hopefully at her brother and he gave her a hard stare.

"He'll never listen to me." Beyond said with a shake of his head.

"It's worth a shot. Please?" She pleaded. Bullet tried to look at him with her most pitiful expression and after about 2 minutes, he gave in. Beyond just tossed his hands up and he had a small smile on his face.

"I guess I'll help you. With that look you're giving me, it's a little hard to refuse." He said.

"Yes! Come on, let's go tell him!" She said excitedly. Beyond let out a sigh and he let her drag him back up to the hotel room. Bullet made him agree to a lot of things that he probably shouldn't agree to. There was that one time she told him that she was going to be an assassin. She told him not to tell the police and guess what? He agreed to it. Beyond realized that most of the time her decisions had reasonable outcomes so he decided to go along with her plan. It seemed fair enough...

But was it going to work?

"-e're back!" She announced. L looked up from his laptop when they walked back into the room.

"Where did you go?" He asked.

"Oh, just outside. I think I found a solution to the problem." Bullet said with a smile on her face.

"And what would that be?" L said skeptically.

"Well...I need to ask you something first. Do you think that I'm Kira?" She said.

"Well, your percentages are up to 32% bu-"

"I'm not looking for percentages, L. Tell me the truth. Am I a Kira suspect?" Bullet said softly. L sat there for a moment and tried to think of something to tell her. He did suspect her of being Kira but he didn't want to believe his suspicions. L loved her to much to believe that she was a mass murderer. But that was a biased view. Bias was never good in something like this...

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know, Bullet. To be honest, you're one of our main suspects right now. I don't want to believe it but it's the truth. I'm sorry." L said. Her smile faded quickly and she looked down at her shoes.

"But...why?" Bullet said. It was an innocent question but L found that he had some difficulty trying to answer it. Beyond stood up from the couch and left, because he knew that things were about to get super mushy and personal.

"For one, you have the shinigami eyes and I know that they're real. They give you the ability to see people's names just by looking at their face. From what we know now, that's something Kira can do. If you signed up to work on this investigation, you also have access to criminal records. However, there's a few facts that could prove your innocence." L said.

"That fact would be...?"

"Your brother has these eyes too. I'm sure that there might be more people with these eyes. On top of that, you were here when Kira's little broadcast went on. There's no way you could kill without being in two places at once. To add to that, why would you want criminal records to be released when you work with the police yourself? It seems like too much trouble. Anyway, your chance of being Kira is relatively low because I firmly believe that you wouldn't send me on television just to kill me." He replied.

"Why do you have so much faith in me?" She said, sounding confused.

"I love you. I know that for a fact. Now, if you really did love me then why would you kill me?" L said.

"What if you made a mistake when you chose to date me? What would you do then?" Bullet blurted out. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand and regretted saying those words.

"We all make mistakes sometimes because the world's not quite perfect. But you know what? It's there for us, trying the best it can. However, I do know that dating you wasn't a mistake. It was probably the best decision I've ever made. I've never found anyone that's made me happier than you have now. However, even though I do love you the fact still remains. You could be Kira." He said.

"I know. Most of this is all based on words and bias, partially. I don't want to keep you in the way of solving this case. If it helps, I will do whatever I can to prove to you that I am not Kira." Bullet said. L laughed a little and gave her a kiss on the lips. At that exact moment, Beyond decided to poke his head out of the room. He caught Bullet kissing L and he rolled his eyes.

"I suppose I chose the wrong moment to pop back in." Beyond said as he walked towards them. Bullet just rolled her eyes and continued to talk to L.

"I mean it though. I will prove to you that I'm not Kira. Somehow." She said determinedly.

"Alright then. I'll be fine with that. Now, what was that solution you were talking about?" He said.

"Well, I just thought of what you said a few weeks ago. Kira probably has the shinigami eyes too. There are times where I can't see people's names floating above their heads. I can't see Beyond's name right now." She said.

"Well, what's that supposed to mean?" L said curiously.

"I told you earlier about my theory. I think that if you have the eyes, then your death date can't be seen by the other people who have shinigami eyes too." Bullet explained.

"That makes sense. Where are you planning to go with this?" He asked. There was a bad feeling settling inside of his stomach as he began to draw a vague picture of what she was going to do.

"Here's the plan. I'll go on TV and pose as you. Kira won't be able to see my name since I have these eyes and he probably does too. If I pose as you, then there's a chance that we could lure Kira out of hiding and catch him." She said. This time, it was L's turn to object.

"No! You could die, Bullet! This plan is crazy and I'm not even sure if it will work. What if Kira does kill those police officers when they realize that they can't see your name?" He said sharply.

"Hey, it's better than airing the third tape and saying that we'll release the names of all the criminals. That would only kill tons more people." Bullet said with a shrug.

"L, she'll be fine. What she's saying is true. Even I can't see her name floating above her head right now. Kira can't kill her." Beyond said. She made a thumbs up sign behind her back, which caused her brother to smile a little.

"Well...I mean, you plan seems legitimate but...I don't know, I just don't want Kira coming after you too." L said as he ran a hand through his hair.

"L, I'll be okay. I'll just disguise my appearance so that if Kira does end up running into one of us, then they won't recognize me." Bullet said. He had nothing to say to that and Bullet realized that he might give in. L just sighed and pulled her into a hug.

"Alright. You can do it. Just don't get yourself killed out there." He murmured.

Bullet let out a squeal of delight and hugged him tightly. Beyond muttered an unheard complaint against their display of affection and turned back to his work. L told her to be careful and she went off to devise her speech for the broadcast. As he sat there, he prayed to God that this was the right decision. L didn't want her to die. He loved her too much to let that happen to her. With her willingness to put her life on the line for them, he began to wonder if was her way of proving to him that she wasn't a killer.

Maybe he was wrong about her being Kira.

* * *

That's it for now! That turned out a lot longer than I intended it to be. Anyway, I hope you liked it and I can't wait to hear feedback!

Arrivederci!

-uniquename200

(V) ;,,,; (V)


	15. Chapter 15: The Reveal

**YAY! FANFICTION COUNTED THE UNSIGNED REVIEWS SO NOW I'M UP TO 26! **Which of you lucky readers will be review #30?

Anyway, happy belated Thanksgiving! I hope that none of you got killed on Black Friday :) I meant to post this on Thanksgiving but it wasn't quite done. So, here we are with another chapter to the Sins of the Twins! I have a shoutout for this week, don't worry!

_SecretlyADemon: Oh hai derrr! Thanks for leaving a review! I can't believe you read this at one o'__**clock in the morning. I thought I was the only one who did that :D Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

Ok, so I have a very special announcement for anyone reading this. That means that **YOU SHOULD READ THIS. DON'T SKIP IT.**

The broadcast will be the turning point of the story. That means that the story will go into AU land! However, we will still **LOOSELY** follow the anime. Capiche?

And that's it! Happy reading!

* * *

_**(April 26, 2004- 5:21 PM, Bullet's House)**_

"Bullet? Are you sure about this?" L called as he walked down the hallway. He entered her bedroom and saw her sitting at a vanity, brushing her hair. She looked up at him and let out a sigh.

"I'll be fine, L. Don't worry about me. Anyway, what have you concluded about Kira so far?" Bullet said.

"First of all, this does not seem to be the act of our Kira. It's too...public. There's a lot of room for error in these tapes." L said as he sat down on her bed.

"Our Kira? What are you trying to say?" She said, sounding confused.

"I'm saying that this doesn't seem to be the work of the first Kira." He said. She whirled around and stared at him.

"There's another one? Are you kidding me?" Bullet said.

"No, I'm absolutely serious. These tapes are a step down for Kira. For them to stoop down to this imbecilic method would probably be a blow to their ego, not to mention the fact that it's a big risk." L said.

"Well, who do you suspect is the first Kira?" Bullet asked as she continued brushing her long, black hair.

"Soichiro's son, Light, is one of my main suspects now. He's up to 7% but still, he possesses all the qualities that Kira probably has. He's cunning and has incredible reasoning abilities. I've noticed that he's very careful with his words. It's almost as if he's trying to think of a way to convince me that he isn't Kira in a manner so as not to make me suspicious. In a sense, he's too perfect." He explained.

"He's that kid from To-Oh, right?" She said.

"Yes. I distinctly remember you telling your brother that you heard voices around him." L replied.

"How did you..." She began.

"I have video cameras in every room, Bullet." He said with a smirk. Bullet merely raised an eyebrow and shook her head. By now, she should be used to her boyfriend's questionable behavior but sometimes, his actions still creeped her out a little.

"Even I have to admit, that's a bit...how can I phrase this...dubious." Bullet said.

"My actions are perfectly reasonable, are they not? It doesn't matter, as long as I can catch our criminal." He said with a shrug.

"That's true. Does Light know your real identity?" She asked.

"I told him I was L. However, he cannot be sure of my identity just yet. I believe that he intends to confirm my identity through a third-party, like Soichiro or someone else on the investigation team. He hasn't done it yet so he cannot be sure that I am the real thing." L said.

"But if he does realize that you're the real thing, then how will he react to the broadcast tonight?" She said.

"This might throw him off and he could slip up in his façade. There is a 10% chance of that happening but it's still possible. If the second Kira has the eyes like you say, then they'll be unable to see your name. That will most likely irritate them and lure them out of hiding to find you. However, I have informed everyone on the team of your plan and I have I instructed them not to tell who is the real L."

"Ok. Sounds good." She said. Bullet pulled a black dress shirt off the wall and a pair of jeans. Bullet more or less kicked L out of her bedroom so she could dress and he waited for her in the living room. After ten minutes, he got tired of waiting and went back to her room. L knocked on the door and went in.

"Are you done?" He said.

"Not yet. You can come in though." She said. Bullet was standing in front of the mirror. Her eyes were not red but a deep shade of brown instead. L came over and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her gently on the cheek, which caused her to smile.

"You look fine." He murmured.

"Thanks." She said. L could see a glimmer of uncertainty in her eyes and he could tell that she was a little nervous about tonight.

"You're nervous. I can see it." He stated.

"Yeah, I am. I hope I can pull this off." Bullet confessed.

"I think you'll be alright. You know, I'm grateful that you're doing this." L said softly as he squeezed her hand.

"Let's just hope it works." Bullet said. He nodded and opened her door.

"Are you ready?" He said.

"I guess so." She said with a shrug. Bullet took a long coat and put it on. She took a fedora off the table and deftly tied her hair into a bun. Before they walked out the door, Bullet opened up the drawer next to the door. L wasn't looking so she put a pistol in her breast pocket. Or so she thought.

"What are you doing with that?" L said quizzically. She silently cursed and turned to face him.

"It's for safety measures. Just in case something happens." Bullet said. _Please don't ask why I have a gun in my house_, she thought. He simply shrugged and they headed out the door. L drove her to the TV station and stopped at the front doors.

"I wish you the best of luck. Come back safely." He murmured.

"I will. I love you." She said, giving him a soft smile. "As do I." L replied. She rolled her eyes and tried to fight off an amused grin.

"I said it. You have to say it too." Bullet said. L chuckled and just shook his head.

"Alright. I love you too. Be careful." He said. L kissed her one last time and Bullet got out of the car. She went up the front steps of the police station and looked downwards. Bullet walked into the bustling TV station and went down a hallway. She found the main room and sat at a chair in the back. Bullet looked around and checked her watch. It was almost time for the 6 o'clock news. No one had seen her face because she cast her eyes down and prevented people from seeing her face.

"Places, people! We're live in a few minutes!" Demegawa yelled. He was a large man that was the head of the TV station. People rushed around busily and took no notice of Bullet. A man with a clipboard came over and he looked at her quizzically.

"And who are you?" He said. "I'm here to give a speech." She said. The man shrugged and continued making the final checks for the broadcast. After a few minutes the **On Air** sign lit up and the anchorwoman began to speak. Bullet introduced herself to an employee and took her place at a desk in a corner of the room.

"Good evening. Tonight's news will be replaced with a special broadcast from the police. The broadcast will contain a special message to Kira. L, the world-famous detective, has agreed to appear on television and will conduct a ten minute speech. Without further ado, here he is." She said. The camera switched to Bullet and a small smile appeared on her face. She stood up but kept her eyes pointed down. Bullet silently took off her hat and took the clip out of her hair. She could hear an audible gasp from everyone in the television station.

"Hello, Kira. I'm the real L." Bullet said. Everyone was staring at her and she could tell that they were shocked to see that she was female.

"That's correct. I am the real thing. I have come out of hiding just for you to see me. You know, you and I are a lot alike in more ways than you would expect. I'm sure you noticed our similarities right off the bat, if you know what I mean. People know your name even though you hide in the shadows. Just like me." Bullet said.

"Now, how do I prove to you that I really am L? To be honest, I am not sure. I guess I can start by telling you that what you're doing is wrong. Sure, these people are criminals and they have done bad things but there's no need for you to be killing them. They've received the proper punishment already. It's not your place to decide what's good and what's bad. I'm sure there are people out there that seem completely innocent but have done something bad before." She continued. Bullet had to fight off a smirk because she knew that she was talking about herself.

"While we're on that topic, let's talk about what would happen if you were to take over the world. If you did kill all the criminals in the world and there was no more evil, what would be considered bad then? Let's say that a kid stole a toy from a store and the authorities found out. If they knew, then you would know as well. Would you kill the kid?" She said.

"That's the problem, you see. When you kill these people, a taste for murder grows inside of you. The need to kill will get bigger and bigger and your standard of good will be lowered. Soon, you'll be eliminating innocent people to satiate the need for murder. Do you see what I mean?" Bullet said. There was a silence and Bullet checked the clock. She had talked for about ten minutes without even noticing.

"Alright, Kira my time is up. It's been ten minutes already. I want you to know that I know all about your little game. I know that you have the eyes and I know how you kill. It's...an interesting method, that's for sure. However, when you sent in those tapes you made a big mistake. We've found hairs and other forms of DNA on them already. Soon, we'll find out who you are and give you the justice you deserve. For now, adieu." Bullet said. She saw the camera in front of her switch off and over to the news anchor on the other desk.

"That's it for tonight. From everyone here at the Sakura TV Station, I'm Yumi Yushiko. Thanks for stopping by." She said. The **On Air **sign went off and Bullet let out a sigh. She hoped that she had done well with the speech and wondered how Kira would react. Bullet picked up her coat and began to get ready to leave. She saw Demegawa heading up to her and she wondered exactly what he wanted.

"Are you really L?" He said "Yes, I am. Is there a problem with that?" Bullet said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I just never expected that…" Demegawa began.

"What? Did you never think for one second that the greatest detective in the world could be a woman?" She said. There was silence and Bullet knew that he was thinking of it. She ignored him and made her way downstairs. On her way down the elevator, the television suddenly switched on and the background to the Kira videos appeared, which took Bullet by surprise. What was going on? Demegawa had been told not to broadcast any more videos! She hit the _Stop_ button and pressed the top floor once more. Bullet threw open the door and stormed into the news room.

"What is the meaning of this? We told you not to air any more videos!" Bullet snapped.

"It's not us! Our system's been hacked!" A man yelled. His computer was frozen and another was being overridden. She had no idea what to do and her Bluetooth beeped twice in her ear.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hey, it's me. What's going on over there?" L said.

"I'm not sure. I thought there were no Kira videos left. Apparently, the station's computers are getting hacked. " Bullet replied.

"I have a feeling that something's going to happen and it's not a good feeling. Bullet, get out of there now." He said. "I've got it." Bullet said.

"By the way, I heard what Demegawa said to you. That was rather sexist of him, wasn't it?" L said.

"It was! I would've punched him right in the face but I didn't want to soil your reputation." She said.

"You...you never fail to surprise me, you know?" He muttered.

"I like to keep you on your toes." Bullet said. She went inside and pressed the button for the lobby. Bullet saw the videos on the screen and they began to play. She went silent and waited for them to play.

"Hello, L. I saw your little speech and I have a quick little message for you. It is true that you and I share many similarities. I'm wondering why you knew about the eyes in the first place. However, I didn't like how you spoke against me publicly. For your insolence, I will take the lives of random people in the building as compensation." Kira said. Bullet's eyebrows furrowed and she quickly made her way out of the elevator. She walked cautiously in the hallway and decided to talk to L again.

"Are you still there?" Bullet said. "Yes, I am. I want you out of there now. I don't want you getting hurt." He demanded.

"Can you see me?" She asked.

"I hacked into the security cameras. I can see you now." L said. She gave him a little wave and continued to walk.

"Are there any back exits?" She asked.

"There are but they're all blocked by guards. The only way out is through the main entrance. Watari is on his way down there. He'll meet you about two blocks west of the TV station." He replied.

"Alright, I'll see you soon." Bullet said. She heard a click and the line went dead. Bullet walked into the main hall and saw a woman in the lobby that was lying dead on the ground and a man next to her that was screaming her name. She saw about 3 more people go down and Bullet tried to make a dash for the door. There was a mass of people headed for the exit and about a quarter of them soon died. About half of them were killed the moment they stepped outside. Bullet heard a shot being fired and she quickly ducked. There was a hole in the wall where her head used to be and she looked around her. Four men ran into the building and fired more shots at her.

"What are you doing?" Bullet screamed.

"Shut up! I saw the news and your little speech. My little sister worked at this station and it's your fault that she's dead!" The man screamed. Three other men beside him ran at her and Bullet struggled to avoid the gunshots coming from multiple directions. She thought about using the gun in her pocket but realized that if she shot anyone, she would probably ruin L's reputation. Bullet ducked once more and then did a back-flip. She grabbed one of the men by the fist and flipped him to the ground. The sound of his head hitting the ground rang through the lobby and he was knocked unconscious. She tossed him to the side and felt an arm wrap around her neck.

Bullet pinched the pressure point near the crook of his elbow and one on the palm of her attacker's hand. She stomped on his foot, threw back her head, and hit him in the nose. The guy let out a yell and she turned around and elbowed him in the solar plexus. He was knocked down to the ground and she kicked him mercilessly to the side. Bullet got into a hand to hand fight with the third man and quickly dodged a shot from the other guy. She twisted his arm behind his back and kicked him in the chest, which sent him flying into the wall. Bullet heard the sound of his head hitting the wall and knew that he wasn't getting up for a while.

She hit the ground and avoided another gunshot. Bullet pushed her body off the floor and kicked the last man in the chest. Another bullet was fired, which grazed her in the side of the head. She knocked the gun out of his hand. They got into a hand to hand fight and her moves flowed together seamlessly, making her attacks look effortless. Bullet aimed another kick to his chest and he avoided it quickly. For a random guy, his speed wasn't bad. She caught sight of a tattoo on his forearm and suddenly understood why he was good at combat.

This man was probably part of a gang.

She jumped up high and kicked him as hard as she could. He stumbled back but stood up to fight once more. The man aimed to punch her in the face but she did a quick flip and dodged the punch. As she came back from doing a sort of back cart-wheel, she saw a fist in front of her face again. Bullet grabbed his hand and flipped him over. She tossed him downwards and kicked him to the ground. The man finally realized that Bullet was nothing ordinary and cowered at the sight of her.

"Don't kill me!" He screamed.

"Why would I? I mean, you brought this on yourself but I have no intention of doing so." Bullet said. She walked away from him and made her way out of the TV station. Bullet headed down the sidewalk and went two blocks from the station. There was a throbbing pain in her head and she touched it with her hand. Blood covered her palm and she let out a groan. She saw a black Mercedes waiting for her and Bullet went straight into the car. There were sirens in the distance and hurried into the car.

"Hello there, Bullet." Watari said. He began to make his way through traffic.

"Hi. How far are we from the hotel?" She asked.

"We're not that far. I'll take the highway and we should be there in ten minutes. I have a few tissues here for your injury." He said. Bullet touched her head in confusion and felt hot blood dripping down her face. She gratefully took the thin tissues and held them to her forehead. They were silent for a little while but he began to talk again after a few minutes.

"L was quite worried about you." Watari said quietly.

"Was he really?" Bullet said.

"Indeed, he was. That boy really does love you, you know." He said.

"I know. I love him as well. That's why I did this broadcast tonight. I didn't want Kira to kill him too." Bullet replied. He nodded approvingly and a smile found its way to her face. L was like Watari's son. It felt good to know that he approved of their relationship.

"It's good to see that he's found a love of his own. There was that other girl but…oh, you wouldn't be interested in that." Watari said. Her head snapped up and Bullet suddenly became interested in what he was saying.

"Wait, what other girl? Who is she?" She demanded. The older gentleman chuckled lightly and continued to drive.

"Her name was Rose. She was a girl at the orphanage who left for a performing arts college in Vienna when she was seventeen. She was a wonderful singer and an excellent musician too. I'm sure that's what she majored in." Watari began.

"Anyway, they met when L was nineteen. She came back from summer break and came to visit us. I know for a fact that Rose had feelings for him. She was nice too but I never really found out what he thought of her. I think that he liked her too. She had to leave after her break was over but I don't think that she's kept in touch with L. I've talked to her and she told me that she's coming to work on the case with us. Her plane arrives at noon tomorrow morning." He said. Bullet went silent and she sat sullenly in the back seat. She fought off an immense wave of jealousy and wondered what this girl was like. From what Watari had told her, she sounded like a girl who could probably steal L away from her. Her lips curved into a frown and she glared at the windshield in front of her.

Bullet didn't like the sound of this at all.

After a few minutes, she felt the car roll to a stop and Watari opened the door for her. She mumbled a word of thanks and followed him down the hallway. The news of this _Rose_ girl had put her in a bad mood, coupled with the fact that her forehead was bleeding. They went back into the hotel room and everyone turned to look at them.

"Bullet!" L said. He shot out of his chair and stood up to help her. "I'm glad you're ok. I saw what happened." Bullet didn't say anything and sat wordlessly on the couch. Beyond came over to inspect the damage and he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank god you're ok," Beyond said. He took a look at her face and shrugged. "Well, you're alive. Close enough."

The rest of the task force was either asking her unheard questions or talking to L. When they saw that she was getting medical attention, they backed off and continued to work with their new information. Beyond dabbed antiseptic on the wound and pulled some gauze out of the bag. He took some medical tape and patched up the spot where the bullet had grazed her. Beyond changed the gauze a few times until the bleeding stopped. He shined a light in her eyes and she flinched.

"Ow! That hurts!" Bullet complained. "Good, it should. Is your head feeling alright?" He asked.

"No, of course it's not. I have a huge headache and I want to just nap for a while." She said.

"There is no way that I'm gonna let you do that. You're not supposed to sleep if you have a head injury, you know." Beyond stated.

"You and your rules. I'm glad that you can put your medical degree to use. Oh wait, you didn't get one." Bullet said sarcastically. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her quizzically.

"Bitchy today, aren't we? What the hell is your problem?" Beyond muttered.

"Oh, I don't know. Like getting shot in the face isn't enough of a problem already." She muttered. Beyond looked at her for a long time and shook his head.

"That can't be it. I've seen you take worse injuries than this. You remember that one job in St. Petersburg and the other one in Sarajevo? Yeah, those were worth bitching about. Now, what's wrong?" He said in a low voice. Bullet let out a sigh and looked at L, who was standing a few feet away from them. He had a stack of papers in his hand and turned around to look back at her.

"It's nothing important, I guess." She mumbled. Bullet stood up and went over to L's desk.

"How did I do?" Bullet asked.

"What you did was excellent. We managed to get a lead on the second Kira. When you left the station, the street camera caught a figure walking out of a building nearby. I checked the footage and they went in at 6:17 and left at around 6:23. That's the time-frame of when the killings were committed. They left right as you did and the murders stopped after that." He said.

"So, that person is probably the second Kira." Bullet said.

"Correct. By the way, I never realized you were trained so well in the pugilistic arts," He said. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Bullet heard his question and tried to think of something to say to him. "Beyond...Beyond taught me when we were kids! Yeah, that's right." She said quickly. He took the answer but she wasn't sure if he believed her or not.

"Anyway, I'm glad you're back. However, the identity of Kira doesn't matter to me very much at the moment. Are you all right?" L said. Annoyance bubbled up inside of her. She could take care of herself!

"I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me so much." She snapped. She immediately flinched and wanted to take her words back. Her voice came out a lot sharper than she intended it to be. Bullet cleared her throat and looked down at the ground.

"Is something wrong?" L said with a turn of his head.

"No, everything's alright. It's just that...well, I feel bad about what that man said to me." She said, mumbling out a feeble lie. He put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a questioning look.

"What did he tell you?" He asked. Bullet looked at him and she had a frown on her face. It was a bit selfish of her, but she didn't want to believe that L had ever been interested in another girl. However, when she looked at him, she found that it was very hard to be mad at him. Bullet soon realized that she was being foolish for something that happened in the past. She decided to just let it go but the seed of doubt had still been planted.

"Well, he told me that his sister worked at the station and she was killed by Kira. He said that it was my fault that she was dead because of my speech on the broadcast. I guess I feel guilty about it. Getting grazed by a bullet didn't exactly help with my mood either. I'm sorry if I snapped at you." She said with a sigh.

"That's fine. I'm grateful for what you did tonight. It helped us out a lot. I hope you feel better soon." L said. He planted a kiss on her forehead and her lips curled into a smile.

Yep, it was extremely hard to be mad at him.

_**(April 27, 2004- 11:36 AM)**_

Bullet was sitting in a chair in the hotel room. Beyond had refused to let her sleep and gave her about three cups of coffee and a large can of RedBull. She had worked all night with L and they had come up with a couple leads. They had searched the place for fingerprints and retrieved a pair of binoculars. Aizawa was searching the object for fingerprints while they stayed to review the videos. Bullet had gone home at around eight and took a shower but other than that, she had been here the whole time.

L sat next to her, reviewing the video for the millionth time that morning. He stopped it suddenly and pointed at the suspect. "Our suspect is female." L said.

Bullet glanced up from her papers to look at him. "That was random. How were you able to figure that out?" She said.

"Look at the way they walk. If it was a man, they would have a bulkier figure. Most men walk with a swaggered shoulder and slowly because to us, walking quickly looks ridiculous. Although they're facing away from the camera, they are standing up straight with their eyes facing forward. They walk moderately fast, like they have places to go. They also take steps carefully, which is something a man wouldn't do. If you look closely, this person swings their hips while they walk. All of these are womanly traits, don't you think?" He said.

"Well, I guess that's right. By the way they're walking, it's like they're walking on a runway or something." Bullet muttered. L was silent for a second and he thought about what she said.

"You're absolutely right." He finally said.

"Huh? About what?" She said.

"This woman...she does have a model's walk. Do you think that she could be one?" L asked.

"It could be. It would narrow down our list of suspects exponentially." She said.

"I'll look into that later." He said as he glanced at the clock. Bullet saw his look at Watari and the two stood up. They went over to the door and L turned back around to look at Bullet.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Oh, we're going to go out for a while. We'll be back in a little bit." L said. She fought off the gnawing feeling of jealousy because she knew that he was going to the airport to pick up Rose.

"Alright then. Have fun." Bullet muttered. She continued to work alone for a while and she found herself constantly getting distracted. Bullet let out a scowl and sat back in her chair. She shut her eyes for a while and jolted up in her chair when she heard the door opening. Beyond walked out of the room with his usual clothes on. He held a cup of coffee in one hand and a folder in the other. Beyond set the cup down and stood next to her.

"Morning." He said.

"Good morning to you too." Bullet said.

"Well, you're not as mean as you were yesterday. What was that all about anyway?" He asked. She let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair. Bullet didn't want to tell him here because she knew about the cameras that L had set up. She didn't want him knowing about her true feelings. Bullet felt a rumble in her stomach and realized that she couldn't run on RedBull and coffee alone. She checked the clock and went over to the couch to grab her coat.

"Beyond?" She called.

"What?" He said.

"Have you had lunch?" Bullet said.

"No, mother, I have not. Why are you asking?" Beyond said, with a hint of sarcasm laced into his voice. Bullet rolled her eyes and tossed him a coat.

"Let's go to lunch then. I'll tell you there." She said. He shrugged and agreed to go eat with her. The pair left the room and walked down the sidewalk to a little café. It was obscured by the high-rise buildings around it and looked empty.

They went inside the quaint café and found that they were the only customers. An elderly woman rushed out of the kitchen and led them to a table near the window. She took their order and disappeared into the back room. Beyond took off his jacket and turned back to his sister.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" He said.

"Do you really want to know?" Bullet said.

"If it's bothering you that much, then why not?" Beyond said.

"Okay...well, what I told L yesterday was a lie. That's not why I was upset. When Watari drove me back to the hotel, I found out that there was another girl before me." She said quietly.

"Another girl? Would you care to elaborate?"

"Sure, I guess. Anyway, her name was Rose. She was a girl at the orphanage who left for a performing arts college in Vienna when she was seventeen. They met when L was nineteen. He told me that Rose liked L a lot and he might have liked her too. She's coming to work on the case with us and L and Watari just left a little while ago to pick her up." Bullet said.

"Well, if L really did love you then I'm sure he wouldn't express interest in this Rose girl." Beyond remarked.

"I know. I'm not exactly sure how to feel about this. I might just be acting silly about this whole thing and blowing things out of proportion." She said.

"The way I see it, you're just being a bit possessive. It's true that L is your boyfriend but you need to give him some space to breathe. If there's one thing a man hates, it's an over-possessive girlfriend. I will admit that L is an honest man and he doesn't seem like the type of guy who would cheat on you. Anyway, if he did cheat on you, I could beat him up for you." Beyond said. There was a mischievous gleam in his eyes and Bullet let out a little laugh.

"I'm pretty sure we could kill him in a minute or less, if we wanted to." She said.

"I think that you could kill him yourself in thirty seconds, given that you had the right motivation to do so." He said with a shrug.

"You have a point. But I don't think I would go that far. I may be a little crazy, but I'm not that crazy. I'm the normal one. It sounds like something you would do." Bullet teased. This caused Beyond to laugh, which was a rare occurrence.

"You? The normal twin? Kyahahaha! You've got to be kidding." He scoffed.

"Well, you did kill three people. In an odd manner, might I add. After that, you tried to set yourself on fire. I don't exactly call that normal behavior. You, my dear brother, are a psychopath." She said.

"I've killed three people. You've killed over a hundred in your entire life. My count is less than yours. To be fair, neither of us should be considered as such. We seem fit for society but we're about equal on the state of oddity. I'm a blood loving street doctor and you're a trigger happy assassin. And by the way, I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high functioning sociopath. Do your research, dear." Beyond shot back. Bullet let out a laugh and smiled at him.

"You have a point there." She remarked. He leaned back in his chair, looking smug. Their lunch break seemed to be less eventful after talking about her problems. The two paid the bill and walked back to the hotel. Bullet scanned the parking lot and saw L's car sitting in its usual spot. They were back.

Her stomach lurched and she walked silently into the elevator. Bullet tried to reassure herself by saying that L loved her and that he wouldn't show any interest in Rose.

Right?

* * *

Alright, that's it for now! I've thrown in some relationship drama there with Rose. How will this play out? o.O

Anyway, don't forget to review! If I make any spelling, grammar, or spacing errors then don't hesitate to tell me!

(V) ;,,,; (V)


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